


The Truth Hurts

by rarmaster



Series: FtPverse [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Implied/Referenced Past Abuse, Parallel Universe, the Replica Program is Fucking Huge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-09
Updated: 2010-11-15
Packaged: 2018-10-31 05:41:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 24
Words: 27,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10892865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rarmaster/pseuds/rarmaster
Summary: The Riku Replica finds himself mysteriously alive and on the shores of Destiny Islands. But, how did he get here? Why isn't he dead? And more importantly, why can’t he remember anything?





	1. Arrival

He made his way to the shore slowly; he hurt too much to move quickly. Once he was on dry land, water only lapping at his feet, he paused and took a moment to cough up the water that had filled his lungs.

_How did I get here?_  he thought, truly confused. He didn't remember a thing.

He started to push himself to his feet, only to be overcome by another fit of coughing.

"Are you alright?" someone called, and he looked up. Running towards him was a girl, probably about his age, with red hair and blue eyes. She knelt in front of him and looked at him expectantly.

"Yeah, I'm alright," he said.

She took a look at his beaten body and frowned. "Are you sure about that?" She ran a hand along one of the cuts on his side. He winced. "What happened to you?" she asked.

He took a second to think about that, but his efforts were pointless. He couldn't remember anything, and was starting to wonder what had happened himself. "I don't know…" he said slowly.

The girl's frown deepened and worry filled her eyes. She turned back towards the island. "Sora!" she called. "Can you come here? I need your help with something!"

"Sure!" came the response. A boy, who he could only assume was Sora, came running over. Sora paused once he noticed what it was the girl had called him over for. "Who's this?" he asked.

"Don't ask him questions! He's hurt, we need to get him inside."

"Okay, okay, geez!" Sora laughed, and held out his hand. He took it after a second and Sora helped him to his feet. Sora supported him as they made their way towards town.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, the girl spoke up. "My name's Kairi, by the way, do you mind me asking who you are?"

"I'm Riku," he said automatically.

_Well, at least I remember my name,_  he thought.

"So, Riku, where'd you come from?" Sora asked.

"I can't remember."

"Can you remember anything?" Kairi asked.

Riku shook his head. "Not a thing," he replied with a sigh. It would be great if he could remember, maybe then he'd at least know why he hurt so much. Slowly, he closed his eyes as he limped along, doing his best to recall anything.

" _Hold it."_

_He was in a clearing. Someone else was there, but he couldn't remember their face._

" _You've changed… darkness… scare you…"_

" _I'm me!"_

" _Must be nice… couldn't get away with saying that…"_

_Anger, hate, rage, they flooded his mind. Whoever this person was, he needed to go. There was something about this person that just made him so mad! He pulled out his weapon and charged—_

"Riku!"

He opened his eyes, Kairi was looking at him, and she seemed a bit worried. He noticed that he was also lying down on a couch. They were in a house. "Wha- what happened?"

"Sorry," Kairi said, "you just didn't answer the first time. I was a bit worried. Sorry if I woke you up, you probably need the rest. Whatever happened, it certainly wasn't good." She continued what she had previously been doing, which was bandaging one of Riku's wrists. While he had been trying to remember, it seemed she had bandaged up most of his major injuries.

He thought of the memory he had managed to pull up. The fragmented conversation hadn't made much sense to him, but the basic idea of what was going on was clear. He and whoever else was there were fighting.

"I think it was a fight…" he said quietly.

"It must have been a preeeeetty serious fight." Kairi sat down on a nearby chair.

"Yeah…"

Try as he could, though, he couldn't recall the memory again.

"Look what I found!"

Riku and Kairi both turned as the front door slammed open. Standing in the doorway was Sora, and he was holding something. He tossed what he was holding to Riku. Riku caught it and stared at it in slight disbelief. It was a bundle of clothes. Clothes that were identical to what he was wearing.

"Where'd you find this?" Kairi asked.

"They were just in a pile with the rest of my clothes?? Which is weird, but lucky I guess,” Sora answered, grinning.

"Thanks," Riku said.

"No prob."

"C'mon Sora," Kairi said, standing up and grabbing Sora's hand. "Let's get outta the way so he can get changed." She dragged him up the staircase to the right of the couch, since there really wasn’t anywhere else to go except outside.

Riku laughed at the surprised look on Sora's face and sat up. It seemed like the two of them were going through an awful lot of trouble to help him out. Kairi had bandaged his wounds, and Sora went looking for new clothes that he could wear. Riku couldn't help but wonder why they were doing this.

_Maybe it's destiny_ , he thought as he changed out of his old clothes and into the new ones. It took him a while, due to his injuries.

_Or maybe I'm just lucky and I happened to run into the two nicest people on this island._

Whatever the reason, he certainly wasn't going to complain about it.

**xxx**

Sora and Kairi returned later, and the three of them spent quite a while talking. Their conversation consisted of mainly Sora and Kairi asking questions regarding Riku's past and Riku constantly reminding them that he could not remember a thing. Kairi informed him that his injuries should heal in less than a week, except possibly the most serious ones, which lead Riku to ask this question:

"So why are you guys helping me so much?"

"Would you rather we just left you to die on the beach?" was Sora's reply. Kairi let out a small laugh at this.

"We just felt like we should," she said. "This may sound crazy, but I think our hearts are connected. Like the three of us are meant to be friends."

Riku laughed. "So it is just destiny" he mused.

"I guess it is," Sora agreed.


	2. Fragmented Memories

_One week later…_

The three of them lay on the shore staring up at the sky. Kairi was pointing out random shapes in the clouds. Sora spent most of his time with his hands behind his head and just listening, but he would point out shapes too. Riku lay with his right hand (which was the damaged one) on his stomach, and left arm by his side. All but two of his injuries had healed completely, one of them being his wrist, and the other was a large gash in his side. He didn't really participate in pointing out cloud shapes, but occasionally he would point out an interesting one that caught his eye.

"Hey look, Sora," he said, pointing at the sky. "It's you and me."

Sure enough, there in the sky was a cloud shaped Riku and a cloud shaped Sora, each in a fighting stance. Riku watched the clouds with mild interest that grew rapidly. As he watched, the cloud Sora and the cloud Riku started fighting, and it was a pretty epic fight.

The cloud Sora attacked and the cloud Riku was knocked off his feet and started falling.

_He was falling…_

_Falling…_

_Falling…_

_He hit the ground, or what he assumed was ground, hard. He stood up and took a look around. He seemed to be in the halls of some sort of castle, but he just couldn't remember where exactly…_

" _Riku… I think I'll jog your memory"_

_He turned. Sora was standing there, in his fighting stance, Keyblade in hand. Riku wasn't sure what to do, but his body had its own ideas._

" _Go ahead and try," he laughed._

_The two of them charged into battle—_

"Aw, looks like you won, Riku" Sora laughed. Riku gasped, pulled out of the dream. He looked at the clouds and noticed that the cloud Sora was slowly floating away. "I bet I could have beaten you if we actually fought though."

Riku chuckled half-heartedly. "I don't know," he told Sora. "Let's just wait until my wrist heals, then we'll find out."

"Okay!"

Despite Sora's upbeat attitude about the whole idea, Riku was troubled. If that odd dream he had really had been a memory… that would mean Sora and him were fighting, maybe even enemies.

_A forgotten enemy…_

Riku turned to look at Sora, who was happily discussing something totally random with Kairi. He didn't seem worried one bit. If the two of them were enemies, Sora was doing a great job of hiding it.

_Unless… he forgot too?_

_No, that's ridiculous, I'm probably just overreacting._

Riku closed his eyes, just listening to the sound of the waves. It was calming, just laying there, nothing but the sound of the waves and the voices of his friends. The sun beat down on him, but it wasn't hot, just warm.

_This is the life. Just laying here and doing nothing, and without anything to worry about..._

_He found himself on the island, but it was night, and a storm looked like it was moving in. He looked around a bit and then laughed. "I guess I fell asleep. I must be tired; this is the second time I've dosed off."_

_Deciding he best have a look around, he started off in a random direction._

" _Come, this way…" a voice called. He turned, only just in time to see a cloaked figure walk off. Curious, he followed._

_The cloaked figure led him to cave. He went inside after it, only to find that the cloaked figure had disappeared. He took a look around the cave, and found a strange door. He approached it slowly._

_The door started to open and darkness started leaking out of it._

" _SINK INTO THE ABYSS!" someone shouted, and the door flung itself open, and darkness came rushing out. He threw his hands up over his face to shield himself—_

He opened his eyes quickly and found himself safe on the beach. Sora and Kairi were still there, still talking, and for the most part oblivious to him.

"Was that… another memory?" Riku asked himself quietly. But he shook his head. "It didn't feel like one." He sat up slowly, and turned around. There, right in front of him, was where the cloaked figure had led him in the dream. "Maybe…"

He got too his feet. Sora and Kairi looked up at him, and Sora started to ask something, but he shook his head. Kairi gave him a worried look, but she and Sora returned to their conversation. Riku headed in the direction of the cave.

Sure enough, the cave was there, just as he had seen it in his dream, except the door wasn't there.

"I should tell Sora and Kairi about this…" he said, and started to turn around. But then he laughed and sat down. "No," he whispered, "this is my secret place. It can be my thinking spot, where I go when I need some peace." He picked up a rock and ran it down one of the walls. A line was now scratched into the wall, and he slowly smiled. "A place where I can try and remember things."

Now grinning, he slowly started to sketch out the fragmented memories he had remembered.


	3. Competition

Two days had passed, and in that amount of time Riku's wounds had finished healing. Due to this, he and Sora were finally going to have their fight.

"You ready, Sora?" Riku asked, readying his wooden sword.

"Yeah!" Sora replied, his own wooden sword ready.

And thus, the repetitive whacking one another with a toy sword began. Try as he could, Sora couldn't land one hit on Riku. Riku, however, was beating the crap out of Sora. The fight didn't even last a minute.

"So you bet you could have beaten me, huh?" Riku sneered with a smile.

"I-I was going easy on you!" Sora replied hotly.

"Of course you were."

"Nice going Riku!" Kairi laughed, "Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

"Like I'm supposed to remember?" Riku asked in response.

"Well you do seem to remember how to fight just fine," Sora said.

"There are some things you just can't forget," Riku told him.

Sora got into a fighting stance again. "How about a rematch?"

Riku resumed his fighting stance.

The battle begun.

Of course, things went pretty much the same as the last battle, except that Sora actually managed to hit Riku a few times. Sora swung, Riku dodged and then unleashed a massive combo before backing out of Sora's reach. They continued this pattern for a while.

Riku started to move in for the finishing blow, but a cloaked figure standing off to the side caught his attention.

"Huh?"

His sudden moment of confusion was his downfall, because just then Sora knocked him off his feet and knocked the sword out of his hand.

"I win!" Sora proclaimed, pointing his wooden sword at Riku's throat.

Riku looked up at Sora, a bit angry, but turned back to look at where the cloaked figure was standing. Only, the figure was gone. Riku frowned, but cast the thought aside.

"Alright, you win," he laughed as got to his feet. Sora grinned. "But…" Riku sighed, "the score is tied. How about another match, then we'll see who the winner  _really_  is."

Sora took a moment to think about that.

"You could always race," Kairi suggested.

Sora and Riku both looked at her, then at each other, and nodded.

"On my count!" Kairi called as the two boys got ready for the race. "3… 2… 1!"

They took off.

After a long day of fighting, racing, and Sora and Riku being competitive about everything it was possible to be competitive at, the three friends collapsed on the shore out of exhaustion.

"I still think I would have beaten you that last time we fought if I hadn't tripped" Sora said, turning to look at Riku.

"I'd argue, but I'm just too tired."

Kairi laughed. "You two are so ridiculous! Just give it up already Sora, Riku beat you."

"I beat him loads of times!"

"You beat me twice"

"Did not! It was at least four times!"

"Whatever"

They sat in silence for a while.

"I need to get home" Kairi said, standing up. "You two coming? Or should I just leave you here so you can compete some more?"

They all laughed.

Sora started to tell her that they were coming, but Riku interrupted.

"We'll head home in a minute."

Sora watched Kairi walk away, and then turned to look at Riku. "What'd you do that for? I thought you were too tired for another rematch."

"You like her, don't you?"

"What?"

Riku chuckled. "C'mon Sora, I've only been here a week and it's obvious."

Realization passed over Sora's face, and then he laughed. "Ohhhhh! Now I get what you're getting at. But, dude, no? I mean, I love Kairi, but not like  _that_." He scrunched up his face with an annoyed pout. "Geeze, you can't remember a thing, but you remember enough to try teasing me about this?" He shook his head.

"I- oh," Riku said. He was starting to feel a little embarrassed. Something in his head just felt like Sora and Kairi just...  _always_ went together. Honestly, he was a bit confused, but...

Sora waved his hand, smiling a bit again. "Nah, don't worry about it," he said. "I'm not mad, really, we just get this kind of crap from Selphie and Tidus all the time, and it gets old."

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it!" Sora repeated. He jumped to his feet. "Last one home is a rotten egg!" he shouted, shoving past Riku as he took off running.

"H- hey! Get back here!"


	4. Unknown Force

" _Huh? What are you supposed to be?" the other guy asked upon noticing him._

_He laughed._

" _Surprised?" he asked with a smirk, "I guess you should be. After all, I look just like you. I'll tell you what I am. I'm an exact replica of you that Vexen made from your data."_

" _So you're a fake me" the other guy said slowly_

" _Not a 'fake'!" he replied angrily. "I don't care if you're 'real'! You're not better! We share the same body and the same talents. But there is one easy way to tell us apart, though." He pointed fiercely at the other guy, who seemed a bit taken aback, but waited for him to continue. "Unlike you, I fear nothing."_

" _Are you, calling me, a coward?"_

" _You're afraid of the dark!" he taunted. "The darkness inside you still frightens you, no matter what you say."_

_The other guy scowled, angry, but unsure of what to say._

" _But, I'M different. I embrace the Darkness. I can make it do whatever I want." He summoned up his darkness and his weapon. "So…" he got in a fighting stance and smirked. "I can wipe the floor with you."_

_The battle began. They both attacked pretty much the same, though he used dark attacks quite often and attacked ruthlessly. The other guy was extremely good at avoiding him though, and when he braved up enough for an attack, his attacks HURT. It got even worse when the other guy decided to use HIS darkness._

_It became impossible for him to avoid anything the other guy threw at him. Dark Firaga was the other guy's favorite attack, and he used it often. Neither of them backed off from the good old hack and slash method, though._

_Their blades clashed once, and they glared at each other, both snarling._

_Only slightly conscious in his dream, Riku realized who he was fighting._

_He was fighting himself._

_The other guy, the real guy, backed up, and then went in for the finishing blow. He was too slow to block it, and gasped._

" _How can I lose to YOU?" he asked, falling to his knees. He stared at the ground, breathing heavily, just focusing on getting his energy back._

" _Hey! Fake!" the real guy said, happiness just dripping off his voice. He looked up, though not extremely happy about the idea of being called a fake. "I thought I heard you say you were gonna wipe the floor with me."_

" _Hmph," he said. "Don't forget, I'm still new. I'll get stronger and stronger." He pushed himself to his feet. "Next time we fight; you're finished!"_

" _Then let's fight now!" the real guy charged and attacked, but he blocked it easily with darkness. The real guy hit the floor with a groan, and he laughed._

" _It's nice having darkness on my side!" He laughed. "You are SO missing out." He watched in amusement as the real guy struggled to get up. "How can you be scared of something that can be so thrilling?"_

" _Enough!" the real guy gasped._

" _Hmph. So now the coward is playing tough." He turned and smiled. "So long Real Thing, hope you don't miss me." And he ran off._

**xxx**

_He opened the door and entered. The three people in the room all looked up and turned their attention to him. He walked towards them._

" _So, how was the real thing?" one of them asked. He knew who this person was, but just couldn't place the name. The name didn't matter though, the only thing that did matter was that this person was important, and he'd better listen to what they had to say._

" _He's spineless," he replied. "In no time at all, I'll be better than him."_

" _In the meantime, would you be interested in meeting another who's considered a hero?"_

" _You mean Sora. I hear he's somewhere in the castle. You want me to take care of him?"_

" _We'll see… yes… I intend to make good use of you."_

" _No worries," he told them confidently. "The real Riku was nothing, Sora won't be either. They're no match for me."_

**xxx**

Riku shot awake in seconds. He thought over the dream quickly, making sure he wouldn't forget anything, especially since the dream was fleeing quickly.

"Was that… another memory?" he asked himself quietly. He took a glance out the window; it was still dark. He thought for a second about just going back to sleep, and then decided against it. He would head to his Secret Place and work out what just happened. Besides, if he went to sleep now, he might just forget what he had remembered.

 _If it was a memory at all,_  he reminded himself, and then headed off.

**xxx**

He spent hours in his secret place, thinking, and scratching more pictures into the wall. Eventually hunger drove him out, though. His stomach was growling too much for him to concentrate anymore, so he left.

When he got outside, the sun had already risen, and it was extremely bright. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the light and then headed for the smaller island, where Sora and Kairi were. Hopefully, they had food with them.

"There you are, Riku!" Sora said when he saw him. He and Kairi were sitting in the tree, as usual. "We wondered when you were gonna show up."

"We heard you headed down earlier this morning," Kairi added. "Where were you?"

"Uh... Places."

Sora and Kairi laughed at that, but didn't press.

" _Why'd_  you come down so early?" Sora did ask.

"Couldn't sleep," Riku replied, leaning against the tree next to them. "Thought I might come down here and get some thinking done."

"Whatcha thinking about?" Kairi asked

"Nothing really, just trying to remember."

"Remember anything?"

Riku thought about telling them, but decided against it and shook his head. There was no reason to tell them something when he couldn't even make sense of it. "Nothing," he said.

"That's too bad," Kairi said, and turned to Sora. "I wonder if Riku's world is out there somewhere."

"What do you mean?" he asked

"Well, Riku had to come from somewhere, right? What if it was another world?"

"That's ridiculous!"

Riku closed his eyes and let the two of them argue about it. To him, it didn't matter. He sighed, listening to the sound of the waves and just letting the world move on around him. It was peaceful. Almost too peaceful.

He shuddered and opened his eyes. Something didn't feel right; there was something in the air, something that shouldn't be there.

"The calm before the storm," he muttered, and looked out towards the horizon. There were no clouds in sight, but that didn't mean anything. He tensed immediately. Sora and Kairi stopped their arguing and turned to look at him.

"Trouble," Riku said simply. "Something's coming."

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked. "What could possibly be coming?"

Just as he said it, a small black creature with glowing yellow eyes appeared.


	5. The Heartless and the Unremembered

"Trouble," Riku said simply. "Something's coming."

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked. "What could possibly be coming?"

Just as he said it, a small black creature with glowing yellow eyes appeared.

"Told you," Riku said as three more of the creatures appeared. "C'mon, we need to get out of here."

The three of them ran across the bridge that led off the small island, ignoring the creatures that kept sprouting up. Riku looked around at all of the creatures and scowled. There had to be something he could do to stop them. And maybe there was…

He stopped running, and turned to face all the creatures. He heard Sora and Kairi stop running behind him.

"Go! I'll hold them off!" he called over his shoulder. Kairi continued running, but Sora ran towards him.

"You can't fight alone!" Sora said, pulling out a wooden sword. Riku would have laughed, but now wasn't the time.

"Are you kidding? That thing's going to be useless on these guys!"

"What do you expect to fight with?"

"I'll find something!" Riku said. "Now go!"

"I'm not leaving!"

Riku turned to look at Sora. "You have to protect Kairi!"

Sora stared at Riku for a moment, processing what his friend had said. He nodded and ran off.

"Alright, let's see if I still remember how to do this," Riku muttered to himself, and held out his hand. His weapon immediately materialized, and he smiled. This was going to be easy. He swung his blade sideways, destroying three of these creatures in the process. They faded away in a puff of darkness.

It was almost too easy.

Each swipe of his blade killed at least two of the creatures. He stabbed one, and ended up going straight through it and through four more. There was little these creatures could do to hurt him, unless they attacked in hordes. But he was able to dispose of these hordes quickly before he took much damage.

The creatures kept jumping at him for an attack, but he destroyed them before they could land a hit. Most of the battle consisted of simple hacking and slashing, and each creature went down with a single hit. Despite the fact that the creatures were easy to kill, they just kept coming.

And coming…

And coming…

 _Will they ever stop?_  Riku thought, looking at the creatures that were surrounding him. He backed up, only finding ocean behind him. He was surrounded, and tired; mostly due to the fact he had little sleep last night, and that he had been fighting for the past hour. No matter what he did, he wouldn't be able to stop these things.

_I won't be able to keep this up for much longer!_

He brought up his blade to block one of the creatures from attacking him. But it did nothing to help him, because every other creature that was around him took that moment to attack. It was impossible to get rid of them, and they had him on the ground now, all piled on top of him.

"NO!" he shouted, but it was no use. He lost consciousness in seconds.

Therefore, he did not notice the cloaked figure that appeared and banished the creatures. It was impossible, down in the depths of his mind, to notice anything that would happen for a while.

**xxx**

_"Protect ___!" someone shouted._

_"Kairi?" he finished automatically, but that didn't sound right. There was someone else… and it wasn't Kairi. Someone he had to protect… but he couldn't even remember her name. He groaned, extremely frustrated with himself._

_"Why can't I remember?" he asked aloud. No answer came._

_He thought long and hard, but he couldn't remember a thing._

_Well, nothing concerning her, anyways, but another memory did come floating back._

**xxx**

_It was almost funny, the look on that guy's face when they entered. Of course, names were fleeting as usual. The guy had hair of a steel blue color, and when he noticed Riku, he backed up against the wall, a look of terror on his face._

_After a second though, the guy realized who he was. "Oh… Oh, yes. The Replica, of course. We can use this Riku to defeat the real one. Axel?"_

_The man behind him, Axel, ignored this guy and said: "Wouldn't you like to be real?"_

_He nodded, not taking his eyes of the blue-haired guy._

_"All you need is the kind of power the real Riku doesn't have. If you can get that, you can be a new person – not Riku, nor anybody else. You won't just be a copy of someone. You will be unique, your OWN self."_

_He said nothing, just considering the idea._

_"Axel! What are you saying to him?"_

_Axel ignored the guy's comment again. "You know, he's as good a place to start as any."_

_He took a step forward, the idea seeming like a great one. What he would give to be his own self…_

_"You can't do this!"_

_He picked the blue-haired guy up by the collar and started to drain his life force. Cruel as it may seem, the guy was dying anyway. The life force flooded through him, giving him new strength. The guy started to fade away._

_"So sorry, Zexion. You just found out way too much."_

_Zexion, so that was his name… It didn't matter though, he was already gone._

**xxx**

Riku opened his eyes slightly, as confused as ever. He had just remembered something, he was sure of it, but the memory didn't even make sense. He pushed himself into a sitting position, realizing what had led up to this memory. He had been fighting those creatures. What were they called? He knew, somehow, he did…

"Heartless," he muttered. He jumped to his feet, weapon in hand, and looked around frantically. But they were all gone, not a single Heartless remained.

"I wonder what happened to them…" he said. Of what little he remembered, they weren't the type of creature that would just leave randomly. "Someone had to have gotten rid of them, I guess." He was a bit thankful for that, but there was no way they were gone for good.

"I need to see if Sora and Kairi are okay, the Heartless might have moved on once I went down." Riku took off at a dead run back to the town. Anything could have happened. He found Sora and Kairi quickly, for it seemed they had been waiting for him.

"Riku!" Kairi called, she was the first to notice him. But it was Sora who seemed more relieved to see that he was alright; he ran towards Riku.

"You're alright!" Sora said excitedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Riku replied.

Kairi had made her way over. "You sure?" she asked. Riku nodded, even though now that he thought about it, he might not have been. His head hurt like crazy, and he was sore all over. But at least Sora and Kairi were alright; more importantly Kairi, but only because she reminded him so much of that one girl.

_Whose name I can't even remember…_

"I didn't even think you would make it out of that!" Sora said. "There had to have been a million of those creatures! How did you ever manage to get rid of them all?"

"I didn't-" Riku admitted. "Someone else did. I didn't see who though, they arrived while I was unconscious."

" _Unconscious_!" Sora and Kairi both asked, sounding shocked.

"The Heartless all attacked at once and knocked me out somehow. I'm perfectly fine." He paused, noticing the slightly confused looks on their faces. "Oh, Heartless, that's what those creatures are called. They're beings who don't have hearts—" he frowned and shook his head, that wasn't right. "No, that's not it. They're what becomes of someone when they lose their heart. If darkness consumes a person's heart, they're turned into a Heartless."

"How do you know this?" Sora asked, sounding slightly doubtful.

"I remembered."

"Did you remember anything else?" Kairi looked at him excitedly.

Riku frowned, not wanting mention that one memory. "Not much. Well-" he paused; there was nothing wrong with telling them about that girl. "There was this girl. I can't remember her though… not really… just bits and pieces as always."

"What'd she look like?" Sora asked, hoping to help Riku out a bit. It seemed like this was important to him.

Riku closed his eyes and thought hard. "She was… blond. Blue eyes. She looked a lot like Kairi. Not sure why, but there was a reason of why she looked so much like Kairi… I can't remember though." He shook his head and tried to think harder, seeing if he could pull up an image. "Her hair was long, hanging down over her right shoulder, and she wore a white dress."

_He could see her now, standing in front of him, smiling. He smiled back._

He opened his eyes and looked at Sora and Kairi. "I can't remember her name" he told them.

"You'll remember eventually," Sora assured him.

"Yeah," Riku muttered, not sure if he should be happy about the idea or not. Sure, it was great that he would remember her name, but what other memories that might come with it was what worried him.


	6. Confusion

_He walked in at an interesting time. Vexen (he had remembered HIS name, at least) was holding a card, studying it with interest. "That card holds the memories of Sora and Riku's home." Axel explained._

_"It's just a card," he said, causing everyone to turn and look at him. "What good is that?"_

" _With a little help from Namine, you'll have all the real Riku's memories." Again, names were fleeting, and therefore he couldn't remember the name of the person who spoke. But, it was one of the most memorable members of the Organization, if only because she was the only woman. "Maybe we can get her to make you forget you're nothing but a fake. In other words, we'll remake your heart so you can be exactly the same as the real Riku, 'kay?”_

_He gasped, anger rising. "You want to remake my heart?" he asked. "The real Riku is a wimp who's afraid of the dark! What would I want with the heart of a loser?"_

_They ignored him completely._

_"Any objections, Vexen?" she asked, turning to look at him. Vexen seemed deep in thought. "After all, you do want to test Sora, don't you?"_

_Vexen nodded. "It must be done."_

_"How can you?" he asked, shocked. "Are you betraying me?"_

_Vexen smiled and held up the card. "I told you I would make good use of you, didn't I?"_

_"No!" he said, backing up a step._

_"Relax kiddo," the woman said. He didn’t like the grin on her face. "I don't think it's going to hurt that much."_

_"I'll hurt you!" he shouted, summoning his weapon and charging. Every ounce of his anger went into that attack, but he was knocked away with a bolt of lightning. He hit the floor, his weapon spinning out of reach. He tried to get back on his feet, ignoring her laughter._

_"Stupid little toy! Think you could defeat me? Where would you ever get a little thought like that?"_

_He abandoned his attempts to stand and instead turned to glare at her. Fear coursed through him as she made her way over._

_"But, look on the bright side. Along with everything else in your head, Namine will erase the memory of me knocking you flat." He continued to back up as she approached, though he knew he couldn't back up much further without hitting the wall. "Instead, she'll implant the loveliest little memories you could ever hope for!" She smiled. "It's no big deal that their all lies."_

_"No-" he said, backing up the last inch he could. "NOO!"_

**xxx**

It was this final scream that woke him up. He had fallen asleep on the beach, his body still trying to catch up on all the sleep he was missing. Of course, nearly every time he closed his eyes another memory would drift back to him, so it never felt like he was sleeping.

Riku sighed and sat up, looking out at the water. What stunk the most about all these memories is that not one helped him remember the name of that girl. He considered this angrily for a moment before shaking his head and standing up. It wasn't worth worrying about. He headed off to his Secret Place, hoping to get more thinking done there. Even if sitting on the shore and listening to the waves was peaceful, nothing could match the peace that he could find in his Secret Place.

He spent a while sketching out what he had remembered on the walls, which had become habit lately. While he was sketching, he thought hard about the memory. They were talking about- rewriting his memory. Had they actually done it? Was this why he couldn't remember anything now? He didn't think so, though.

_If they rewrote my memories, what memories did they give me? Is anything I'm remembering even real? Or is it all just fake?_

_And speaking of fake, what was it she had said? Make me forget I was fake? Does that mean I'm not real?_

He turned to look at one of the first few pictures he had drawn. The one that showed him fighting himself.

_I did say in that memory that I was a replica…_

_Is that all I am?_

_A fake with fake memories?_

He shook his head, deciding not to think about that anymore and returned to his drawing.

Once he had finished with that, he moved over to another part of the wall, which he had dedicated to listing all the members of the Organization. He scratched Vexen's name into the wall next to the picture he had drawn of him, and then underneath Vexen drew a hasty picture of the other member he had remembered today. He didn't bother much with detail, why waste time on a jerk like her?

Riku sat down with a sigh and chucked the rock he was holding over his shoulder. He still couldn't remember that one girl's name. It was going to drive him nuts if he didn't remember soon. He ran his hand over a picture he had drawn a few days ago. It was a quite detailed one of him and Sora fighting, and though he couldn't remember the reason why they were fighting exactly, he was positive it had something to do with the girl.

Of course, Riku was still curious why Sora didn't know her. Had he forgotten everything, like he had? Did Sora have nights where his own dreams and memories haunted him? He shook his head, it was unlikely. Sora was just too happy all the time, and when something was troubling Sora, he usually made sure everyone knew about it.

"Just another question that remains unanswered," Riku muttered. "If only I could remember more, maybe then it would all make sense." He turned around, going to retrieve his rock. The rock lay a few feet away from the other wall, which he had yet to cover completely in drawings. He picked up the rock and then looked at the wall thoughtfully. Getting an idea, he began to draw…

**xxx**

Riku spent many hours laboring over this picture. It had to be perfect, and he made sure to be precise in every detail. When he was finally satisfied, he took a step back to admire his work. It was probably his best drawing yet. Deciding he'd spent enough time sitting there, he went outside to go stretch his stiff limbs.

It wasn't dark yet, though the sun would begin to set within the next hour. He strolled along the shore, wondering if Sora and Kairi were around anywhere. They probably were wondering where the heck he had been all day.

Riku stopped suddenly and looked around. Standing in the shadows was a cloaked figure. He tensed.

"Riku… come here. I want to show you something…"

He frowned, but curiosity got the better of him and he cautiously headed over. "Who are you? What do you want?"

The figure's only response was throwing a rock at him. Riku threw up his arms to shield his face, only to realize there was no need. The rock never hit. Slowly, he lowered his arms and found that the rock was floating about three inches from his face.

"You don't belong here Riku…" the figure said, and the rock fell to the floor.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Riku asked angrily. The figure didn't respond, but turned and started to walk away.

"Hey!" Riku called. "Get back here! Answer me!"

The figure was gone. Riku scowled and bent down to pick up the rock. It was small, round, and black, not to mention ice cold.

_What did he mean by that? Do I really not belong here?_

He closed his fist around the rock and looked up to scowl at where the figure had once stood. To his surprise, Sora and Kairi were standing there. He quickly replaced his scowl with a more blank expression.

"You find something?" Sora asked.

Riku stood up. "Just a rock," he said, holding the rock out for them to see.

"I love those rocks!" Kairi exclaimed, grabbing the rock from his hand. "They're always so warm, like there's a little fire inside of them."

Riku stared at her in disbelief. After a second he frowned and said: "it was ice cold when I picked it up." Upon noticing the confused looks on his friends' faces, he laughed. "I guess the rock just doesn't like me."

"That's ridiculous!" Sora said.

"You think?" Riku asked, grabbing the rock from Kairi and tossing it to Sora. "Throw it at me." Sora paused, staring at him as if he was crazy.

"Go on!" Riku urged. Sora looked down at the rock in his hand and made a face as he usually did when he was thinking hard. After a second he shrugged and threw the rock at Riku. Just like last time, the rock stopped about three inches away from him and floated there for a second before falling to the ground.

"Huh," Sora muttered.

Riku pushed the thought of the rock out of his mind and turned to Sora. "Hey Sora, I'll race you!"

Sora turned to look at him, taking a second process what Riku had said. As soon as he did, he took off at top speed. Riku laughed and raced after him.

Kairi laughed to, and started to follow, but paused. She picked up the rock. After a quick second of thought, she pocketed it and ran to catch up to the boys.


	7. Finally Remembered

The three of them were sitting on the Paopu Fruit tree, as always, watching the sun finish setting. It was dark except for the small glimmer of light the sun cast on the land and the light of the moon. Stars specked the sky.

"Look!" Kairi said suddenly, pointing at the sky. Sora and Riku both looked up to see what she was pointing at, and found a pair of shooting stars.

"Meteor shower," Riku whispered quietly. Those two words reverberated back into the depths of his mind, bringing up whispers of a memory. There was something important that happened once during a meteor shower. Something very important.

He closed his eyes and thought hard; giving everything he had to remember.

_He was little, really little. He couldn't have been much older than five. He could remember, only vaguely, he was sitting on the beach and… there was someone with him. He turned to look, and then smiled. It was that one girl…_

_He felt guilty, that he couldn't remember her name._

_"Riku… look!" she pointed. He looked up and saw a shooting star streak across the sky._

_"Meteor shower," he told her._

_"But- what if a shooting star hits the islands?" she asked, voice shaking with fear._

_Riku laughed and jumped to his feet. "Let it try! If a shooting star comes our way-" he paused, pulling out his wooden sword and pointed it at the sky. "I promise I'll protect you!" He turned to look at her, one big grin on his face._

He pulled himself out of the memory without second thought. It was there, he had remembered! That girl's name, but, oh… it was slipping away again. He gritted his teeth, holding on to the memory as hard as he could.

"N… Na…" He squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating hard.

"Na… Nami…" He groaned; he couldn't lose the memory now! It was too important.

"Nami…uhh…Nami…ne."

That was it! That was her name!

"Namine" he said louder. The name reawakened on old memory.

_Sora walked through the door and did a double take when he saw him. "Riku!" he said, running over._

_Riku frowned. "You'll hurt Namine if you go further" he warned Sora, but Sora didn't get the hint. He never did._

_"You still want to fight?" Sora asked, seeming perplexed. "But Vexen's gone, so now your free!"_

_"It doesn't matter what happens to him. I'm protecting Namine from YOU." He added extra emphasis into that word, hoping that Sora would finally get it. "That's what's in my heart." He sighed. Maybe if he explained himself Sora would understand._

_"Sora," he said quietly. "I made a promise to Namine," he looked down, clutching his fist to his heart. "I promised to… keep her safe."_

_"You did?" Sora asked, sounding as confused as only he could._

_"There was a meteor shower," he explained. "This one night, when she and I were little. Namine got scared and said: 'What if a shooting star hits the islands?' So I told her: 'If a shooting comes this way, I will protect you!'" He had his sword in the air, just like that one night. The memory was fresh in his mind…_

_"You made a promise! With a toy sword!"_

_Those words pulled him back to reality with a shock. "What…?" he asked, lowering his sword. "How do you know about that?" His anger was rising quickly._

_"Because… that was the promise I made to her last night!" Sora said, sounding just as angry as Riku felt. "I would protect her, I said it."_

_"Don't lie!" he shouted angrily. "You weren't the one there that night!"_

_"YOU'RE the one who wasn't there!" Sora shouted back. "That was when she gave her good luck charm to ME!"_

_"Her what?" he asked in shock and disbelief._

_Sora pulled a star shaped charm out of his pocket and held it out so he could see. "See?"_

_He gasped. It wasn't possible! "Tell me… where did you get that?" Something in his mind clicked just then. He clutched his head in pain and staggered for a second before he laughed. "Sora… good try." He reached into his pocket._

_"Huh?"_

_"That must be a fake! I've got the real one right here!" Riku held out his so Sora could see the truth plain and clear._

_"Wha-" Sora looked at the one he was holding. "TWO of them?"_

_He stuck the good luck charm back in his pocket and struck a fighting stance. "Fakes should be destroyed!" he shouted._

Riku opened his eyes. "The good luck charm!" he gasped, feeling his pockets. Then he remembered…

"Oh," he muttered. They had fought again, and Sora had won. After the battle, he was so mad. So mad! He had run off without second thought, dropping his good luck charm on accident. But he was too angry at Sora to go back and pick it up. "Right."

"Something up?" Kairi asked.

"Remembered something" he muttered.

"Oh. What did you remember?"

He shook his head. "Nothing important."

"Okay." Kairi returned to her conversation with Sora. Riku turned to look at the Sora and sighed.

_Does he even have a clue?_

The more Riku thought about it, the less sense it made. If he was remembering Sora, why wasn't Sora remembering him? Nothing about these memories made sense.

 _At least I remembered Namine's name_ , he reminded himself with a small smile. That in itself was its own reward. But something was nagging at him, and it was worse, especially now that he had remembered her name, where was Namine now? He was supposed to be protecting her, and he didn't even know where she was.

_I need to keep remembering, maybe things will make sense once I have all the memories in place…_


	8. His Secret Place

_"Why so glum, Namine? Is there something that's been troubling you? Are you feeling awful about tinkering with Sora's memory? Or maybe you…"_

_"Cut it out Larxene!" he said before she could get anymore out. It was a good thing he had walked in on time. He made his way over to them, ignoring the jerk, Larxene. His eyes only focused on Namine._

_"Namine—" he told Larxene, even though he didn't even bother to look at her. "She doesn't want to remember Sora."_

_"Is that so?" Larxene asked, but he ignored her._

_He positioned himself so he was in front of Namine and smiled at her. "Don't worry," he said. "Whatever's hurting you, I'll make it go away." He pulled out her good luck charm and showed it to her. Namine looked up. "I swear it on this, the good luck charm you gave me."_

_He pocketed it, and smiled. "See ya."_

**xxx**

Riku stared at the ground, smile on his face and tears threatening to fall from his eyes. These memories, these precious memories, how could he have forgotten them?

 _Still missing more pieces_ , he thought, frowning. He could call up a million memories of time on the islands, the islands he sat on at this very moment. All of them with Namine, and Sora, but…

He scratched his head, so confused. He could remember these things, but nothing else that mattered. There was a whole chunk of his life just missing. He couldn't remember it at all. Sighing, he looked up and out to sea, thinking hard. It was nice having this quiet time to himself; Sora and Kairi were off exploring or something.

There was something else that didn't make sense though.

Sora.

_How is it that I can remember him, and yet, he has no idea who I am? And I can't remember Kairi either. Was she just never on the islands? Or is there just something else I'm missing?_

He groaned.

"Why is everything so confusing!" he shouted to the sky, though no answer was given back.

**xxx**

"Hey, what's this place?" Sora looked at the cave like entrance that stood before him and cocked his head to the side, folding his arms. He didn't remember ever seeing it before in his life. He turned away after a second and waved Kairi over.

"Check this out," he told her, indicating the cave. "It looks like some sort of cave." He turned to look at her. "You ever seen it before?"

Kairi shook her head. "Nope. We've never explored this part of the island before, not really."

"Let's take a look inside!" Sora said, and then headed in.

"Whoa…" he gasped in awe, taking a look around. Millions of pictures were scratched into the walls. "Looks like someone's already been here." He took a few steps forward, still taking it all in. He turned back around to look at Kairi. "Do you think Riku knows about this?"

Kairi ran a hand along the wall, looking at a few of the pictures. None of them really caught her eye, until she ran her hand across one. She paused and knelt down to get a better look at it. "Sora," she said quietly. "I think Riku was the one who found this place."

Sora came over to see the picture Kairi had found. It was a rough picture of the three of them. Off to the side was Riku, a very thoughtful look on his face. Under the picture was the phrase: "Still need a few more memories…"

There was another picture off to the side that caught his eye. It depicted Sora and Riku fighting. Sora studied it a moment, a bit confused and yet curious. His curiosity spiked when he noticed the weapon Riku had drawn him with. It almost looked like a key.

"No wonder Riku's been so confused lately," Kairi said from the other side of the cavern. "Come look at this."

Sora turned away from the picture he was looking at and went to look at what Kairi had found. It was another picture of Riku fighting someone. Sora did a double take when he saw who Riku was fighting.

He was fighting himself.

Another interesting thing about the picture was what Riku had written. Next to one of the Rikus he had written the word: "real". Next to the other Riku was written clearly: "Fake?" Sora stared at this oddity for a minute before Kairi pulled his attention to another picture.

"Who's this?" she asked.

Sora studied the picture for a moment. It was a picture of a girl, and was done in painstaking detail. It seemed Riku had gone through a lot of trouble to do this picture, and Sora wondered briefly how many hours he spent in here.

"I don't know," Sora said. "But I bet it's that one girl Riku told us about. I guess she means a lot to him. There couldn't be any other reason he would have gone through so much trouble for this picture."

"I guess so…"

Sora frowned, looking around the cave again. "C'mon, we should go before Riku returns," he said.

Kairi stood up, a bit confused. "But shouldn't we tell him we've been here?"

Sora shook his head. "This is his secret place. If he wanted us to know about it he would have said something, right?"

Kairi said nothing.

"I think it's just best we don't say anything about it," Sora continued. "He might get mad or something."

Kairi let out a small laugh, and then nodded in agreement. The two of them left.


	9. Welcome to Darkness

A week passed, Riku remembering more and more, but never anything that answered his question. He still had a large chunk of his life missing, the part that lead up to here and now. He sat out on the pier, one leg hanging off the side, foot dangling inches above the water. His chin rested on the knee of his other leg, and he stared out to the endless ocean, watching as the sun set.

He was so confused lately. Everything that happened, everything he did, everything in general, they just all confused him. He had been avoiding Sora and Kairi, because every time he looked at Sora he wondered why Sora couldn't remember him. And Kairi reminded him to much of Namine for him to think straight.

But the most confusing thing of all was the fact that he couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something. That there was something that defined him, and he didn't have it. Or, more like there was something down inside of him that he couldn't reach; something that he had access to before.

Riku let out a long exasperated sigh. Things were starting to get ridiculous. He closed his eyes, listening to the waves, a tactic that always calmed him down. He took a breath in, and coughed, eyes shooting open. The normal salty sea air was mixed with a hint of rain and… something else. He summoned his weapon and slowly turned around.

Standing behind him were at least ten white creatures with thin limbs, jumping around. Though Riku couldn't remember what they were called, (these creatures were known as Dusks), something familiar about them itched at the back of his mind. He jumped to his feet and attacked one before it knew what was going on, killing it in a quick combo of slashes. The creature disappeared in a puff of what appeared to be white sparks.

After getting rid of about half of them, more started showing up, along with a few Heartless. Riku frowned, before unleashing a wide variety of attacks. The Heartless were the easiest to kill, though the Dusks took a bit more time and thought. Just as it seemed that he was going to win, Sora and Kairi showed up.

"Of course," Riku muttered, slashing and hacking his way through the crowd to reach them. "You two picked a really bad time to show up, you know that?" he called, smashing in the head of a Heartless and swiping his blade through a Dusk. "Now get outta here! Go! I can handle this myself!"

"We aren't going to leave you!" Sora said.

"Yes, you are!" Riku replied, kicking a Heartless into a Dusk. "You don't even have a weapon to fight with! You wouldn't last ten seconds in battle with these things! Now go!"

"But-"

"C'mon Sora," Kairi said, tugging at his sleeve. "I think Riku's right, let's go!"

Sora turned to Kairi, and then back to Riku.

Of course, Sora had to pick  _now_  to be stubborn.

"I'll be alright," Riku told him, before turning to attack another Dusk. Sora nodded and took off, Kairi not far behind him.

Riku smiled at their retreating figures, and then went back to the battle at hand. It seemed they just kept coming, an almost never ending wave of Dusks and Heartless. He was instantly reminded of his last battle, only the Dusks being there changed things. Last time, he had to rely on endurance, this time, he would need more strategy.

It wasn't long before he was recalling all the past battles he could remember. Knowledge flooded through him, and he imitated each move he remembered perfectly.

Then it hit him, what he was missing, he figured it out.

The power of darkness.

Smiling, he back-flipped away from the Dusk he was fighting, and as soon as he landed, covered himself in darkness. His clothes shifted, and power suddenly flooded his veins. "I embrace the darkness," he muttered, charging up Dark Firaga. "I can make it do whatever I want." He threw the spell at the oncoming rush of Dusks and Heartless, which obliterated all in its path. He grinned.

**xxx**

_Meanwhile_ …

Sora and Kairi watched from a safe spot far away. Both of them cheered Riku on, watching as he beat the crap out of the Dusks and Heartless.

"Yeah!" Sora cheered, watching Riku do his back-flip away from the creatures. Both of them watched in shock as Riku shifted into Dark Mode. Sora paused mid-cheer, and Kairi leaned closer to get a better look.

There was a split second where they almost didn't recognize Riku. The dark outfit covered his entire body, the only bare skin showing was his face. It didn't look like Riku, yet he wore the look like he owned it, which he did.

The second passed, and they watched in amazement as Riku shot the Dark Firaga through the crowd of creatures.

"What just happened?" Sora asked

"I guess he… remembered," Kairi said, though she didn't sound too sure.

Sora only nodded, too shocked to say any more.

They continued watching in awe as Riku unleashed a wide variety of dark attacks. During one of them he jumped into the air and then bashed the ground (and whatever enemies were nearby) with his blade, causing pillars of darkness to rise around him. Another one, which Sora dubbed as his favorite, was when Riku portalled slashing through enemies from one portal to the next, and after a bit of that, he would drive his blade into the ground again, causing more pillars to rise.

The battle seemed to be leaning in favor of Riku.

Then, it all went wrong.


	10. The Truth

He was remembering on the go now, flashes of his past flitting through his mind before going. A battle was running through his head at the moment, another fight with Sora. What had led up to it was fleeting, but it had something to do with Namine. Well, it had everything to do with Namine. He had been angry at Sora, because  _he_  was supposed to protect her, not Sora. The battle had been a fierce one, but he used the memory and the anger that was flooding through him against the Dusks and Heartless that surrounded him.

But, as the battle reached its end, things started to go wrong. There was no longer any anger to throw into his battle, there was no longer… anything.

_He fell to his knees, fooling Sora into thinking he had won._

_"Riku!" Sora said._

_"Want some more?" he laughed, shooting Dark Firaga at him. Sora took the blast full on, and was knocked off his feet. Riku grinned and stood up, walking over._

_Sora pushed himself into something of a sitting position, and gasped: "Riku!"_

_"Looks like I win," he laughed._

_"Riku, stop!" Namine shouted from behind him._

_He ignored her, raising his blade for the final blow. "You are through!" he shouted, starting to bring his blade down._

_"I said STOP!" Namine shouted, and it felt as if his brain just exploded. He collapsed, though he never felt himself hit the ground._

Outside of his memory, Riku hit the ground, not knowing what had even happened.

_He didn't know that he lay there for so long, and he had no idea what was going on around him. He could hear whispers of voices, someone shouting his name…_

_"Broke his heart… smashed it really…" Larxene. Even in this state he could recognize her voice._

_"Smashed… his heart?" he could hear Sora repeat._

_How nice. Sora did care._

_There was a bit more arguing, something about Riku not being there… then the sound of a body hitting the floor._

_What Larxene said next was what hurt him the most._

" _All right, have it your way, then. I know it'll kill you to hear this, but I think I can live with that. That thing lying there is just a puppet that Vexen made as an experiment. No more than a toy. It's laughable, really. It called you a fake, but IT was a fabrication all along."_

_Those words repeated in his mind, over and over, almost like a broken record. Not real? Just a fabrication? A puppet? Is this all I've ever been? Nothing more than… a toy?_

_No! It can't be! I'm… I'm… I'm REAL! I have to be!_

_Larxene's voice came floating in, breaking his determination. "It was only finished recently? How could it remember anything?"_

" _Its memories with Namine were just planted, not real."_

_It? I'm more than an it! I'm a real living being!_

_Anger flooded through him, but he could do nothing about it._

_He didn't even know how he was still alive right now._

" _Memories that were counterfeit, trumped up, and completely bogus. Isn't that the truth, Namine?"_

_Namine!_

_He had to protect her, he had to make sure Larxene stayed away from her!_

_But he could do nothing._

_She's all I've got! I have to do something!_

" _Don't you get it now? That's what Naminé's powers are about! She can enter, rearrange, and even create new memories-of anything, even things that never happened. The girl you've been trying to protect all this time-is really a manipulative witch who shackles people's hearts!"_

_What? Namine… Namine did this to me? She… she made me like this…_

_But…_

_I can't- can't just—_

_I can't let go of this. Even if they are lies, all these memories of mine, they're all I've got._

_I'm just a copy of… of the real Riku, wherever he is, I never had anything. All I ever was—is a shadow off… him. I had nothing then, and I've got nothing now._

_I've got Namine…_

_I think._

_Speaking of Namine, he could hear her voice._

_She was talking to Sora, explaining what she had done._

_Then, something she said hit him hard._

_One of Sora's friends had asked: "What about Sora's promise?"_

_Sora's promise to protect Namine._

_MY promise to protect Namine._

" _Made up, it was fake. Sora never really promised me anything."_

_Which means I never promised her anything…_

" _Me being with him on the islands—that was a lie, just like everything else. We never met, I was never Sora's friend-"_

_Which means we were never on the islands together either…_

_He sighed, or thought he sighed. He couldn't do anything with his body, he was surprised he could even do so much as to think._

_More conversation passed, none of it interesting, then:_

" _Namine, Marluxia is gonna be up there," one of Sora's friends said. "So maybe you'd better stay down here."_

_Then Sora said: "Yeah. Maybe you could look after Riku?"_

_Of course, Sora cared, even if he wasn't the real Riku… Sora was so stubborn._

_But, it was nice of him._

_He could feel Namine sitting next to him somehow, and her presence calmed him. Even if all these thoughts inside of him were just planted, these feelings just born of lies, he would keep them._

_Because they were all he had._

_He wasn't sure how long she sat there, time passed oddly in this state. He wondered if Namine was even thinking about him. He almost wished she would say something. But, she probably didn't even know he could hear._

_Heck, he didn't even know why he could hear._

_I wonder… do they think I'm dead?_

_There was a shift in the air, and suddenly he couldn't feel Namine next to him._

_"Marluxia…" he muttered, blinking his eyes open. He wasn't sure how he knew Marluxia was behind this, but he knew. He pushed himself into a sitting position and looked around. Everyone was gone._

_"How… how am I even awake?" he wondered aloud. But then he shook his head, telling himself that it didn't matter. All that did mater was the fact that he WAS awake._

_Namine._

_He had to find her._

_Determination to find her was probably the only thing that was keeping him going. He got to his feet, staggered at first before he could find his balance, then headed out of the room. He had to reach the top of the Castle and he had to reach it NOW. Nothing else mattered._

**xxx**

_He paused outside the final door. He could hear voices on the other side. Marluxia, Sora, and Namine, they were arguing. He listened to them for a minute. Marluxia ordered Namine to erase Sora's memory, and she had refused. Sora then told her to just go ahead and do it, claiming he would be fine._

_Riku, no, NOT Riku, the Replica, knew he had to get in there before Sora got himself or Namine killed. He tried the door, it was locked._

_Of course._

_Marluxia laughed, informing Sora that if Namine erased his memories—_

_Thinking quickly, the Replica threw open a portal._

_—he would end up like "Vexen's pathetic imitation of your Riku."_

_That simple sentence raised a flame of anger in his heart._

_"Take another guess!" he shouted, jumping through the portal. He came out on the other side in mid-air and only had a second to calculate his move. Using gravity as his aid, he lunged forward and slashed at Marluxia, who dodged. Namine screamed._

_"It can't be!" Marluxia said as his landed._

_From behind him, Sora gasped: "Riku!"_

_"No," he said, turning only slightly so he could see Sora. "Just an imitation."_

_"You're a shell!" Marluxia shouted defiantly. "A shell who has everything taken. EVERYTHING!"_

_"What can you possibly think I ever had?" he asked angrily. "Both my body and my heart are fake. But… there is one memory I'll keep, even if it is just a lie! Whether it was a phantom promise or not… I will protect Namine!"_

_"Imbeciles" Marluxia muttered, reaching into the air. A flower petal slowly floated down from the sky, and transformed into a scythe in his hand. He slashed his scythe through the air, and held it ready at his side. "You would knowingly shackle your heart with a chain of memories born of lies?" he asked them, in disbelief._

_Sora readied his weapon._

_"You would be one who has a heart, and yet cast aside your heart's freedom?" Marluxia asked, voice rising._

_He protectively put his arm in front of Namine, keeping her out of harm's way, yet never taking his eyes off of Marluxia._

_"You turn from the truth because your heart is weak—you will never defeat me!"_


	11. My Memories, My Heart, My Mission

_Funnily enough, defeating Marluxia was a piece of cake. He disappeared in a flash of energy and flower petals. Everyone relaxed._

_"Is he gone?" Sora's friend, Donald, asked. Sora turned and gave him a thumbs up._

_"You could say that…" Marluxia's voice came drifting into the room. They all turned in different directions, trying to locate the source of the voice. Marluxia appeared. "However, what you destroyed was merely an allusion of me."_

_Sora tensed up for an attack, but the Replica beat him to it._

_"So what?" he shouted, rushing past. He jumped into the air and brought his blade down on Marluxia, only to have him disappear in a puff of flower petals as soon as the blade hit. "Another imitation," he grimaced. Everyone rushed up behind him, and they all turned to stare at the door._

_He glared at it, feeling Marluxia's power pulse from behind it. They were talking behind him, but he was ignoring them, just focusing on the door._

_"Riku…"_

_He ignored Sora, he wasn't Riku anymore. Why would he need to go by that name?_

_"Protect Namine."_

_That got to him. His eyes widened and he turned to Sora. "You don't… mind?" he asked, slightly shocked._

_"Should I?" Sora asked with a smile._

_"All right."_

_He and Namine watched as Sora and his friends went through the door to fight Marluxia. The door closed behind him, and then they just stood in silence for a while, staring at the door. Eventually the silence became too much for him to bear._

_"You alright?" he asked a bit bluntly, turning to look at Namine. She seemed a bit taken aback by this question at first, but then she nodded._

_"Of- of course."_

_"Good." He turned away. "I was just a bit worried, that's all. You screamed when I jumped out of the portal."_

_"I was just shocked. I thought…" she trailed off, but she didn't need to finish. He knew what she was talking about._

_"I thought so too."_

_"Sorry…" she muttered._

_"Don't be!" he told her._

_"But I… I just got carried away. I didn't want you to hurt Sora and—"_

_Something in his heart tore with that sentence, but he pushed it aside._

_"It was the only thing I could do… I feel bad."_

_He laughed, curious why she was worried so much about this. "It's fine. I was the one who got carried away. I was just… mad at Sora, I guess."_

_A moment of silence passed._

_"You think he's alright in there?" Namine asked quietly._

_"Who, Sora?"_

_She nodded._

_"Don't worry about him. He's probably faced worse than this. Maluxia's probably begging for mercy right about now."_

_"What about you?"_

_He turned to look at her again. "What about me?" he asked skeptically._

_"Are you alright?" she clarified._

_"Yeah," he said, and then, a bit worried, added. "Why wouldn't I be?"_

_She turned away, ashamed. "Because… I crushed your memories, shattered them to pieces, broke down the wall between truth and lie. No one should be able to survive that."_

_"I guess I'm just lucky," he replied a bit roughly._

_There was more silence, during which Namine tried to piece something together. She'd start to say something, then stop and shake her head. He watched nervously, wondering what was on her mind._

_"You don't still have to protect me, you know?" she said finally, her voice barely reaching above a whisper. "You don't have to cling to these false memories anymore."_

_He shook his head. "You don't understand. I DO need to cling to them. They're all I've got. You heard what I told Marluxia. Being a…" he paused, trying to place the right word. "Copy, I never had anything in the first place. If I don't cling to these memories, what could I cling to? What would my purpose be?"_

_She looked up at him, eyes filled with sorrow, unable to answer the one question that mattered so much to him. "I don't know."_

_He turned his head._

_"But, I do know, as soon as Sora returns, Marluxia will be gone. Then there will no longer be anything to protect me from. You would have to find something else to do anyways."_

_He paused, considering that. She was right, with no more Organization members around, she would be safe._

_"Then maybe I should try and find my own self—"_

_Just then, the doors opened behind them. Sora and his friends ran out. Donald and Goofy quickly closed the door, then Sora turned on it with his Keyblade. A light beam shot out of the Keyblade's tip and hit the door, and light filled the room. Once everything cleared, the door was gone._

_"You okay, Riku?" Sora asked, turning around._

_"Not Riku," he corrected automatically. "I'm a fake. I can't remember why I was created or where or when… All that's inside of me is time with you and Namine. But I know those memories are not real."_

_"Gee, Namine," Goofy said, turning to her. "Can't you use your magic to put Riku's memory back to normal?"_

_Silence hit for a split second, as the Replica and Namine reflected on their conversation. She could remember what he had said. "Well, I…"_

_"It's alright," the Replica said, saving her from having to explain. "I'll deal." He turned and started to walk away._

_"Wait!" Sora called, and he stopped. "Who cares if someone created you? You are you and nobody else. You have your own heart inside of you. Those feelings and memories are yours, and yours alone! They're special!"_

_He paused, processing that. "Sora," he said after a moment. "You're a good guy." He turned back around to look at Sora. "I don't have to be real to see how real your feelings are." He turned away, smiling. "That's good enough."_

_That said, he walked off, ignoring Sora's persistent cries of "Riku!"_

_He wasn't Riku, not any more._

_Besides, he had a mission._

**xxx**

He opened his eyes, finding himself on the ground. Night had fallen, and all the Heartless and Dusks had disappeared. Sora and Kairi were running over. He pushed himself up, memory still fresh in his mind.

"No!" he cried, and ran off.


	12. Just a Fake

Sora and Kairi spent a while searching for Riku. Eventually they found him in his Secret Place. He was sitting in a corner, back to them, head in his hands, still wearing his Dark Mode outfit. It seemed he didn't even notice them walk in. He was sobbing, something he would have rather not been caught doing.

"Riku…" Kairi said quietly. He immediately tried to choke down his sobs.

"Go away!" he yelled at them. "You don't want to talk to me!"

"What?" Sora asked. "Of course we want to talk to you, Riku. What would make you think we wouldn't?"

"I'M NOT RIKU!" he shouted, turning to glare at them over his shoulder. "I'm a phony! A FAKE! Just a copy of the real Riku! Everything about me is isn't mine! The way I look, everything I remember! I can't tell what's truth and lies anymore!" Angrily, he pounded his fist into the ground, and a few dark pillars shot up.

"Riku, calm down!" Kairi said.

He started to snap at her, reminding her that he wasn't Riku, but something made him pause. He took a few breaths, calming himself down, but that didn't help his fractured mind. "I'm still not Riku. Just a replica."

"What are we supposed to call you then?" Sora asked. "You want us to call you Replica or something? No matter what's going on in your mind, to us, it won't seem right. To us, you're Riku, no one else could replace you."

He turned around to look at them. "Really?" he asked

Sora nodded. "You may not be 'real' but you're  _our_  Riku."

"Hmph" he turned back to the wall, pulling his knees to his chest. "That may be so, but it doesn't change the fact of what I am. It doesn't change the fact that everything I own really belongs to  _him._  All but my memories, but my memories are all lies."

There was a sound of movement behind him. He turned ever so slightly to look. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kairi sit down behind him, a bit next to him. "All of them?" she asked quietly.

"Almost all of them," he grunted. "All the good memories. The only ones that are real are the fighting, and the pain, and the hate. That's what's real. I never lived a happy moment."

"Never lived a happy moment before you came here," Sora corrected, sitting down on the other side of him. "We've made a lot of happy memories in the few months you've been here, Riku."

He laughed, letting his darkness fall away. "Maybe the first week or so. But as soon as I started remembering- really  _truly_  remembering, things were just confusing. Especially just now… It's hard- having to relive the feeling of finding out you're fake. It hurts." He buried his face in his hands again, attempting to keep himself from sobbing.

Kairi and Sora turned to look at each other, unsure what to tell the unstable Riku.

'Ask if he's alright' Kairi mouthed.

'Why me?' Sora replied

'Just do it!'

Sora rolled his eyes, and turned to Riku. "You okay?"

"As fine as a fake can be" he muttered.

"Drop that!" Kairi told him firmly. "You're not fake! Just because you look like someone else, or are a lot like someone else, doesn't mean anything! Even if you are a replica, you still have your own heart! And these past few months together, that wasn't fake, was it?"

"Well- no…"

"Exactly!" Sora said. "It doesn't matter where you came from, or how you got here. All that matters is that you  _are_  here. You can't live life in the past. You gotta live in the now!"

"I guess you guys are right…" Riku said. "But it would be nice, to know how I got here. I think I'm missing only one more memory. If I find that, then maybe it will all make sense." He stood up and walked out, a look of pure determination on his face.

Sora and Kairi watched him go, and then turned back to each other, both a bit worried.

**xxx**

_Weeks previously…_

Vexen was bent over his computer, digging through the boy Riku's memories, enraptured. There were so many things in here, so many fascinating things. Riku seemed to know a lot about the Organization, and yet—it was not  _this_ Organization. Riku seemed to know a lot about Castle Oblivion, but… not  _this_ Castle Oblivion.

"What are we going to do about him…" Vexen mused to himself. Anyone with this much knowledge about the Organization—even if it not all of it was accurate—was a danger. Or at least, a  _potential_ one.

"He'd make a wonderful asset to the Organization," Marluxia suggested, from behind Vexen. Vexen jolted with surprise, just slightly, then laughed at himself. He'd been so taken up in Riku's memories that he'd forgotten he wasn't alone.

"Oh really?" he asked, turning to Marluxia, eyes glinting with amusement. He supposed Marluxia wasn't  _incorrect_ , but… "We both know he's a Replica." Riku's memories had more than proved that. "It's not like we can turn him into a Heartless and attempt to recruit his Nobody."

"I know," Marluxia replied, with a steady tone that suggested he'd thought a lot about this. He moved to join Vexen at the computer, reaching over Vexen's shoulder to tap the screen. Vexen sent a sour glare at him. "But that girl, Namine… if we had  _her_ …"

"But we don't know how to get her," Vexen argued. Riku's memories suggested nothing about the girl, or at least, nothing about her origins. "There's no telling if she even exists! Riku's memories don't line up with the events we know, so—"

"Of course they don't line up," came Zexion's voice. A second later he appeared via dark corridor. He was playing with a black stone, tossing it up into the air and catching it again, looking smug. "I tried the same experiment I did on our other visitor. Riku's from another universe."

"I'd figured as much," Vexen grumbled. He did not have a heart, so they were not true emotions, but there was still something that felt vaguely like annoyance stirring in his chest at Zexion's comment. At a lack of any other explanation to explain Riku's strange memories, he'd speculated Riku was from an alternate universe long before Zexion had started any of his experiments.

"Has anyone seen our mysterious visitor, anyway?" Larxene asked. When had she gotten here?—No, she'd been here before, that was right. Vexen had just been ignoring her. Sarcasm dripped heavily from her voice as she continued. "It was  _real_ nice of him to drop in with vague warnings before vanishing."

"Perhaps he would have been more helpful if you two hadn't  _scared him off,_ " Vexen told her, sharply. Larxene turned up her nose, as if  _she_ hadn't been the one who'd threatened him.

"He had no business messing with the Organization's plans," Marluxia said simply. "It's really just a shame he ran off before we could dispose of him completely."

Vexen supposed Marluxia  _did_ have a point there, but still… Any piece that would help solving this Riku puzzle would have been welcome.

"Back to the point," Larxene said. "If we think we need this Namine girl to do something about Riku, then why don't we just make a Replica of her? Surely  _that_ ' _s_ within your capabilities, Vexen."

"Yes, it is," Vexen answered, teeth clenched. "But it's out of the question."

"What good is your precious Replica Program for if not for this kind of thing?" Larxene snarled.

"My Replica Program is a scientific pursuit," Vexen informed her clearly. Emotions, he did not have, but he remembered clearly feeling this same kind of fire in his gut, when Xehanort had asked similar questions of his Program a lifetime ago. (It had really only been years since Radiant Garden, but it felt like so much more.) "I made it clear from the start that I wasn't allowing anyone to use it for  _petty gain."_ He spat the words out, mouth curling in disgust. "The Program is for research only."

"I wouldn't call aiding the Organization 'petty gain', Vexen," Marluxia said, but Vexen ignored him.

Meanwhile, Larxene grumbled something about the Replica Program being a downright waste. He ignored her, too.

"Well we have to do  _something_ about Riku," Zexion said. "He's a danger to the Organization, with the knowledge he has."

"If we have to dispose of him, then so be it," Marluxia sighed. For someone without a heart, he seemed awfully disappointed at the thought. "I just wish we could harness his power for our own. That Namine—whoever she is—is key."

"I am  _not_ creating a Replica just for you to use her!" Vexen spat, unwavering. He left the room in a huff, hopefully signaling to the rest of them that this matter was closed for discussion.


	13. Reverse Rebirth

The sky looked as if no time had passed. And indeed, little had. Riku walked along the beach, pondering things. Most importantly, wondering how was he going to find this missing memory.

He stopped when his ears caught the sound of a sudden rush of wind. He looked around, but found nothing there. Then something hit him from behind, and he collapsed.

**xxx**

_He found the Real Thing outside the Mansion. He let out something of a growl, and then shouted: "Hold it!"_

_The Real Thing gasped, turning around. As soon as he noticed it was just the Replica he relaxed a bit._

_He walked forward a few paces, and then stopped. The two stood for a moment, in silence, glaring at each other. After a second he broke the silence. "Hmph. You've changed. Your own darkness- it doesn't frighten you anymore."_

_"How can you tell?" the Real Thing asked._

_"Because I'm you," the Replica replied._

_"No, I'M me!"_

_"'I'm me' he says." The Replica turned to the side, trying to keep his voice as even as possible. "Must be nice, being real. A fake like me could never get away with saying that." He turned back to the Real Thing. "That's right!" he said angrily. "I'm a phony, a fake! The way I look, the way I feel, everything I remember! And even- this newfound power!"_

_He summoned up the Darkness he had stolen from Zexion, letting it envelop him. The power was coursing strong through his veins and he looked at the sky, savoring the feeling. The Real Thing gasped, reminding him where he was._

_"I thought by finding some new strength, I could finally be someone!" The Darkness ebbed away slowly, but its power was still there, waiting. "Someone who is not at all you!" His voice caught in his throat. "But… nothing changes… I'm still just empty!" He looked down at himself, looking at the body he was in, reminding him, TAUNTING him, that he was just a copy. "Everything about me is borrowed. As long as you're around, I'll never be more than a shadow." He summoned his weapon, every ounce of pain and hurt he felt put into that last sentence._

_The Real Thing stared at him for a second, and then almost reluctantly summoned his own weapon._

_The battle began, and it was a fierce one. They both knew it was going to be a fight to the death, and they both subconsciously knew who was going to win. But the Replica didn't care; he put everything he had into this battle. Every stroke of the blade was intensified with all his anger, every use of darkness was tripled by his new power._

_The Real Thing attacked ruthlessly, but still a bit reluctantly. Even so, each time his blade hit it stung, each time he used darkness it hurt more than it should have. The Replica was getting beaten to pieces._

_But he refused to let that stop him. He continued to throw every ounce of his hate and sorrow and pain into each attack he dealt, hoping that maybe, just maybe he could win this. But even if he did win this, what then? He was still fake, no matter what. He couldn't just take Riku's place in the world. Sora would notice something was up._

_The Real Thing dealt a few nasty blows, leaving long gashes in his sides. The Replica angrily shot Dark Firaga, but the Real Thing just avoided it._

_What hurt him most about this battle, besides knowing the fact that he would most likely lose, was the fact the Real Thing was almost reluctant about fighting. He would attack as hard as he would any other day, but his eyes were filled with a bit of sorrow._

_'I don't need his sympathy!' The Replica thought angrily, throwing every ounce of that rage into his next attack. The Real Thing blocked it easily, and attacked twice as hard. The attack hit the Replica's wrist, and he backed up in pain._

_It was over, any second now…_

_'One last attack,' he told himself, charging up Dark Aura. He shot across the field, blade in front of him, teleporting from one end to the next, constantly trying to hit the Real Thing. It seemed to do quite a bit of damage. But then he drove his blade into the ground, causing the pillars of darkness to rise around him, a wave of pain shot up his arm. He gasped and cradled his wrist for a second._

_The Real Thing stood there, watching him._

_He growled, and mustering up the last of his energy, charged._

_The Real Thing attacked, hitting him in the stomach. The force of the blow knocked him off his feet, and he landed hard on his back. Every part of him hurt like heck. He was beaten, he was fading._

" _So… it's over," he said as he stared up into the sky. It was hard to get words out, but somehow he managed. "Hmph. Death doesn't frighten me. Good riddance to a phony life." He sighed. "My heart was… never real. I'm sure even what I'm feeling now is probably all fake."_

_The Real Thing walked over slowly. "What are you feeling?" he asked._

_The Replica took a second to consider this question, and then he turned to look at the real Riku. "What happens when a fake dies – one like me?" he asked instead of answering. "Where will my heart go?" He looked back up at the sky, watching as his essence floated away. "Does it disappear?"_

" _It'll go somewhere," Riku assured him. "Maybe to the same place as mine."_

_The Replica laughed. "A faithful replica until the very end." His sorrow returned quickly, "that's… okay."_

_Those being his last words, he faded away into darkness…_

**xxx**

_If this was death, then why wasn't he dead?_

" _No, you're dead, no need to worry about that," a voice said. He instantly panicked and attempted to sit up, but immediately found himself pushed back down. "Don't move!" the voice said, sounding a bit annoyed. "I can't keep you in stasis if you start moving around."_

" _Who are you?" he asked, struggling a bit to get the words out. He opened his eyes but then immediately shut them. The darkness provided by his closed eyes was definitely preferable in comparison to the blinding whiteness that surrounded him._

" _Sorry, I should have warned you. Do you want me to dim the lighting?"_

" _Sure," he said. After waiting for a second he opened his eyes. It was now a gray color around him. He took a look around and found a person older than him standing there. They looked just as tired as he felt, green eyes struggling to stay open, and brown hair a bit ragged._

" _If talking's too much for you," the person said, "you can just go ahead and think what you have to say. I'll hear you."_

" _I'll manage." He frowned at this person. "You still haven't told me who you are, or what you're doing."_

" _It doesn't matter who I am. I'm keeping you alive."_

" _What for?"_

" _I'm going to give you a second chance."_

_He started to ask how this person was planning on doing such a thing, but they beat him to it with an explanation._

" _You see, there are millions of alternate universes out there, probably quite a few without a Riku in them. If you want, I can take you to one of those universes and you can start a new life for yourself without having to live in the shadow of somebody."_

_He smiled slightly at the thought of this. "That doesn't sound like too bad of an idea, only one problem. How am I supposed to start anew with the memories I have?"_

" _I can block all of your memories, so you can really start fresh. You won't remember anything, and therefore not be plagued by your past. The choice is yours, though, you can accept this offer and start a whole new life, or I can take the stasis off of you, block this entire conversation from you mind, and let you die."_

" _What's in this for you?" he asked skeptically after a minute of thinking._

" _Nothing, really, I just thought I'd try doing something good with my powers for once…" They paused and scratched their head. "That's beside the point though. So, uhh, you gonna choose?"_

" _I accept."_

_Those words said, he suddenly felt a jolt of energy go through his body. His heart started beating again, sending white hot pain through his veins as blood returned to his wounds. Most of his major injuries were healed enough to not be fatal, but not enough for them to stop hurting. He didn't catch much of what happened after that, though._

_"Not like I'll remember this anyways, so I guess it doesn't matter…"_

**xxx**

_He made his way to the shore slowly; he hurt too much to move quickly. Once he was on dry land, water only lapping at his feet, he paused and took a moment to cough up the water that had filled his lungs._

_'How did I get here?' he thought, truly confused. He didn't remember a thing._

_He started to push himself to his feet, only to be overcome by another fit of coughing._

_"Are you alright?" someone called, and he looked up. Running towards him was a girl, probably about his age, with red hair and blue eyes. She knelt in front of him and looked at him expectantly._

_"Yeah, I'm alright" he said—_

**xxx**

Riku opened his eyes in shock, and immediately found himself on cold hard ground that felt nothing like the beach. He pushed himself into a sitting position with some difficulty, for his body felt as if he had the same wounds he had received in the battle that had taken place months ago.

He took a second to consider this memory, and absent-mindedly rubbed his wrist even though there was nothing wrong with it. Things were starting to come together in his mind. The answer to just about every question he could ask was simple: he came from a universe parallel to this one. Sora didn't remember him because they had never met. The Sora  _he_  knew was in a different universe.

Wondering exactly where he was  _now_ , Riku took a look around. There was nothing but never-ending whiteness.

"Sorry," said a nervous voice from behind him. Riku turned around and shot to his feet, ready to pull out his weapon and attack at a moment's notice. He relaxed instantly though when he recognized the person there as a friend. It was the same stranger that had helped him out.

The stranger laughed. "I didn't know remembering that would have been so painful for you. You okay?"

"Yeah," Riku replied, a bit stiffly. Even if this stranger was helpful, not knowing who they were or what their intentions were bothered him a bit.

"Sorry, that… that this didn't work out as well as I wanted," the stranger said. "Sorry you still remembered. I tried, but—"

"It's fine," Riku cut him off. "I was the stubborn one who made myself remember."

"I just wish it had gone better."

Riku sighed, but smiled a little, thinking about Sora and Kairi.

"Guess it went pretty alright," he said.

The stranger didn't look entirely relieved, but they stopped apologizing, so that was good enough. "You should know, though… the Organization has your memories. Just a warning. Vexen's been raiding them since you got here. I think you remembering was partially his fault."

Riku frowned, thinking this over.

"I better do something about that, huh?" he asked.

The stranger shrugged.

"That's up to you."

They stood in silence for a second or two, and then the stranger coughed.

"I should be sending you back home now, shouldn't I?" the stranger asked.

"Wait," Riku said, something immediately coming to his mind. "I need to ask you something. I was wondering, about that rock, that uhh…" he paused, trying to see if he could remember any names. "Zexion threw at me. When he said I didn't belong here. I get why, but I don't get what the rock had to do with it."

"The rock is kind of like a magnet. It is only attracted to something that comes from the same universe it does. If there is an object, or a person, that doesn't belong in the universe, it will repel and refuse to make contact."

"Oh," Riku said. That was weird, but… alright. "Thanks."

"No problem. I'll send you back now."

And within the amount of time he took to blink, Riku was back on the Islands.


	14. Departure

Riku stood on the shore, staring out at the horizon and watching as the sun started to rise. His eyes would droop occasionally due to lack of sleep, but he was too determined to get his job done to sleep. He wasn't even all that tired, even if his body was screaming defiantly against that statement.

"Riku!" Sora called. He turned ever so slightly and saw Sora and Kairi standing there. He turned back to the horizon.

"I figured it out." He stated plainly. "I come from another universe, it seems. A universe almost exactly like this one, but that universe has another Riku in it. He's the one I'm a copy of." He sighed. "I- I also have some unfinished business I need to take care of."

"But why do you have to leave?" Kairi asked. "If you're  _here_ , and the other Riku's  _there,_ then you don't need to worry about him, right?"

Riku laughed and shook his head. "It's not him I'm worried about. It's the Organization."

"Organization XIII" Sora said, acting as if he understood. That moment passed when he asked: "Who are they?"

"They're a group of Nobodies, beings without hearts. They are what is left behind when someone is turned into a Heartless. They are unable to feel or care about anything. They'll use whatever, or whoever, they can to get what they want. They already have my memories, they could wreak tons of havoc throughout the worlds with that knowledge. I need to stop them before they do too much damage."

"Why do  _you_  need to do this?" Sora asked

"I thought it was clear. They have  _my_  memories. That kind of makes me responsible."

"You don't have to do this alone!"

Riku clenched his fists, and took a second to calm himself so he wouldn't hurt Sora. He was always so stubborn. It seemed nothing had changed from his old life to now, except the fact Sora was a bit more clueless. "You can't come."

"But-"

"Sora!" Riku shouted, turning. "You don't know anything about fighting. You'd be beaten to a pulp within two seconds if you were to go up against an Organization member. You need to stay here, out of danger."

"Why are you trying so hard to protect us?" Sora asked angrily.

"Because!" Riku yelled, and then turned away, taking a breath and biting back tears. "Because I don't have anyone else. Namine doesn't exist in this universe, so I can't protect her. I have to protect someone. It would make me feel better if I knew the two of you were safe."

They stood there in silence for a minute. Riku was desperately wishing he hadn't made that outburst, and Sora was thinking hard. Kairi stood between the two of them, unsure of what to do about the situation.

Sora started to protest again, but Kairi stepped in before he could say anything. "Sora. He needs to do this." Sora started to say something again, but Kairi shook her head. "Alone."

"Alright…" Sora muttered. "Good luck!"

Riku nodded. Sora and Kairi ran off.

Riku turned back to ocean and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, and listened to the sound of the waves. He savored this moment, for he knew there was a possibility he would never return to the Islands. He wondered briefly how much Sora and Kairi would miss him, but then shook his head and focused on his mission. Smiling slightly, he opened up a portal.

"Wait!" someone called, and then something hit him in the back of the head.

"Ow!" he muttered, rubbing his head. He turned around, and found Kairi standing there. "What was that for?" he asked. She smiled and gestured to what was laying on the ground. It was a small black rock on a red string.

Curious, he knelt down and picked it up. He did a double take when he realized what kind of rock this was. It was one of those rocks that shouldn't have been able to hit him. "It hit me…" he muttered, then looked up. "It hit me!"

Kairi laughed. "I thought you would appreciate it." She giggled a little, but her eyes were twinged with sincerity. "You know... having something to remind you that you belong here."

He started to protest, but she stopped him. "Don't say it!" she told him firmly. "I know what you've been thinking. Like I said when we first met, our hearts are connected. Yours, Sora's and mine. It doesn't matter where you came from; this is where you belong  _now_. The rock hitting you just proves it."

"How did you know that it didn't hit me because I didn't belong?" Riku asked, clenching his fist around the rock. He looked up at Kairi, who smiled.

"I just had a feeling that was the reason."

Riku laughed and got to his feet. "Thanks," he said.

"You're welcome," Kairi replied. Riku smiled and pocketed the rock before turning towards the portal. "Be careful!" she called.

"I will," he replied, stepping through.


	15. Castle Oblivion

He emerged in the white halls of Castle Oblivion. It appeared he had arrived on a lower floor, because no one was around. To be safe, he enveloped himself in Darkness, just so he had the power on hand if he needed it.

Funnily enough, this almost felt… natural.

Standing here, in these halls.

He had to remind himself that this wasn't his home, even if it felt like it. He no longer wanted anything to do with the Organization, considering what they had done. All these halls reminded him of now was how he had been treated.

His fists clenched in rage and he summoned his weapon. "WHERE ARE YOU!" he shouted. "SHOW YOURSELVES!"

No one showed up.

Angrily, with mind filled with thoughts of revenge, Riku made his way up to the top of the Castle.

**xxx**

"Bad news," Axel said, popping into the room. Vexen and Marluxia and Larxene all turned to him in surprise. "Riku's here."

There was silence for just a second, and then Larxene and Marluxia turned in unison to Vexen.

"Well, Vexen?" Marluxia said. "Any chance you'll reconsider your—"

"No," Vexen answered, before Marluxia had finished. "How many times do I have to tell you!" Clearly frustrated—as much as he could be, anyway—he left.

"Welp," Axel said, laughing a little to himself. "Don't we have to do  _something_ about Riku?" he asked the remaining two people in the room.

Larxene sighed dramatically. "I'll go get rid of him. He can't be  _that_ hard to deal with!"

"Don't be too rough," Marluxia said. "We might yet still be able to convince Vexen."

Larxene rolled her eyes.

"I doubt it, but fine. I'll just  _stall_ Riku, if that makes you feel better."

She left.

A bit surprised, Axel looked to Marluxia. "So you really dragged the Superior into this after all?"

"Riku would be a wonderful asset to our cause," Marluxia argued, simply.

"Mm. Right."

 _YOUR cause,_ Axel thought, but did not say.

**xxx**

"Oh my, it seems we  _do_ have an intruder in the Castle."

Riku tensed as soon as he heard the voice—her voice—and he summoned his blade to him without a second thought. Larxene appeared across the room from him, looking just as she remembered her, right down to the glint in her eyes and the cruel smile on her face.

"I wonder if he'll be a good boy," Larxene finished, a hint of a laugh in her voice.

" _Larxene_!" Riku spat, the words more a growl than they were anything else. He knew he was better off attacking her now, before she'd really prepared for battle, before she could—

Could what? The memories were all still fuzzy in his head, especially concerning the finer details and concerning… her. His hand clenched anxiously on his blade.

"Give me one reason I shouldn't just kill you now!" he demanded. He tried to make his feet move forward, and attack anyway. Something held him back. Why was his heart pounding?

 _Just adrenaline,_ he told himself.  _You're fine. You're a complete idiot for picking a fight with her, but you're—_

_Wait a minute. What?_

"Well, what have I ever done to  _you,_ for starters," Larxene said. "I haven't done anything! So you have no reason to want to kill me."

Riku grunted. That should've been true, but it was wrong, so  _painfully_ wrong. He wanted her dead. He wanted to never see her face again. She'd hurt him—hurt him more than the rest of the Organization ever had—and he was going to make her  _pay._

Before he could doubt himself a second time—something in him was still roaring that this was a horrible idea—he ran forward, blade prepped to strike. He even managed to get one hit before she jumped out of the way, snarling.

"That was  _rude!_ " she snapped. She was quick to mask it with an air of superiority, of innocence. "I was only trying to have a pleasant conver—"

"Oh  _shut it!_ " Riku growled. "I don't want to hear it!" Something was pounding in him, something remarkably like fear, and he didn't want to listen to that, either. He wasn't afraid of her. He wasn't afraid of anything! Not anymore.

Larxene replied with a similar growl. "Fine," she said, summoning her knives. "If it's a fight you want, then I guess it's a fight you get!"

Riku laughed with excitement.  _It's thrilling,_ he told himself,  _fighting an actual_ opponent _again._ He had to force the laugh to make it sound confident, though. Why was there a pit in his stomach?

He rushed forward, and he and Larxene traded a few blows. Another slash to her side. Blocking her fist with an arm. Hissing a little as her knives glanced off him, though his dark suit granted him quite a bit of protection. Jumping out of the way before lightning charged knives could find his gut.

Larxene sneered, and raised an arm to the sky. "Lightning!" she called.

A heavy rain of lightning bolts stormed down. Riku jumped out of the way of the first and nearly into a second. The feel of electricity charged air screamed against his skin. His heart pounded so hard he thought it'd beat out of his chest. He stumbled, and the third bolt of lightning hit.

It felt like agony raging through his veins. His vision blurred. He was vaguely aware of falling to his knees. Images and sounds rolled in his head—Memories? Nightmares? He wasn't sure. He couldn't breathe.

_His face pressed to the floor—this floor._

_Laughter._

_A boot pressed to his back._

_Larxene's laughter—a cruel, shrill laugh._

_Coughing, knowing the taste in his mouth was blood._

_"What? Can't take it? Then you shouldn't have—"_

"—just a little lightning!"

Riku squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block it out, knowing that just breathing would make it all worse. He just had to—

Had to what?

His thoughts were fuzzy.

His head was on fire.

_I don't… understand… what- what was that? Why- why am so… why am I so afraid? Get up! Get up, you big idiot, get up and fight her, she's not—_

"Ugh, you can't have broken  _that_ easily, could you?" Larxene said. Her voice was blurred. "What use are you broken, anyway? None."

_Get up! Get up get up get u—_

The sound of footsteps—a familiar click of heeled boots—cut him off. She was coming this way. He had to- He needed to…

 _Get up!_ He would've screamed at himself if he could get his mouth to work. His limbs wouldn't listen either. They felt like cement. It was like one of those bad dreams where no matter how hard you ran you didn't go anywhere.

"Hmph, I'll have to tell Marluxia that you're useless. So much for our big plan."

She sounded closer. Any second now she'd reach him. Any second—

" _No!_ " he screamed. He threw his weight to the side, forcing himself onto his back—from there he could see her. From there he could move. The moment he was sitting up he shot a blast of Dark Firaga from his palms, then a second. She couldn't get closer. She couldn't get her hands on him. He didn't want to hurt anymore.

To his surprise, both Dark Firagas hit their mark, and Larxene was sent backwards, shouting. A giddy laugh escaped his lips. He'd done it!

 _No you haven't!_ he scolded himself, though his mood was only soured a little.  _All you've done is knock her off balance. But now! Before she's recovered!_

He pushed himself to his feet, summoning his blade to him again. He ran at her. Readied his blade as he went. She was still staggering to her own feet. The blade sliced clean through.

"What!?  _NO!_ " Larxene screeched with indignation. She doubled over. "I'm… fading. I can't be fading! You- How  _dare_ you!?"

He straightened, but didn't turn to look at her. "It's over, Larxene." He banished his blade. "It's over."

Larxene vanished.

**xxx**

Vexen paced back and forth in his office, before the desk of his computer, fuming. He  _wasn't_ going to do what Marluxia asked. He wasn't going to build a Replica just so they could use her! But Marluxia couldn't seem to get that through his thick skull. And Larxene and Axel weren't helping matters!

He  _wouldn't_ do it, though. He had not built his Replica Program for  _this._

"Vexen."

Vexen jolted and turned around, hoping he had not looked like he'd just leapt out of his skin. Xemnas stood there, in front of the closed door. Vexen had not heard the door open, nor had he heard a dark corridor open, but he wasn't exactly surprised. Xemnas had ways of… getting around, when he wanted to.

"What do you want?" Vexen asked, scowling. It could not be good, to warrant a personal visit.

"That Replica that Marluxia asked you to make…" Xemnas began.

Vexen groaned. As if his day couldn't get any  _worse_!

"I won't do it," he said, firmly. "I won't! How many times do I have to tell you? The Replica Program is  _my_ project, not something for  _you_  to use for your own personal gain!"

"This one Replica is all I ask," Xemnas argued, completely calm. He was not exactly much taller than Vexen, but he still managed to look down on him. "You know Riku is a threat. He either needs to be stopped, or better yet, used for our gain."

" _What_ gain?" Vexen demanded. He didn't, really, see  _any_ profit in enslaving the Riku boy. What could Xemnas  _possibly_ want with him?

Xemnas did not answer. Instead he said: "Do you defy me?"

Vexen glowered.

"I already told you. I will  _not_ build a Replica just for them to be used!"

Xemnas sighed, just slightly. He turned away from Vexen to study the computer on Vexen's desk with extreme interest. At length, he spoke.

"I have been very lenient with your Program, and your Replicas," he said. "Perhaps… more lenient than I should have been. It would be a  _shame_ if something happened to all your Replicas, would it not?"

The air felt like it had been squeezed out of Vexen's lungs.

"You- You can't do that!" he shouted, taking a step towards Xemnas.

Xemnas turned to him, then.

"You know very well that I  _can,_ Vexen," he said. "And I will, if I have to."

Vexen swallowed, and considered his options. His eyes darted to the wall where a link to the communications system was. If he could reach it before Xemnas—no. It wouldn't matter. The Emergency Protocols were made to keep Xemnas from getting his hands on the Replica Program, not from  _destroying_ it.

If Vexen did not agree to this, then every Replica he had ever made would die, one way or another.

Vexen took a shaky breath. Sometimes he really  _hated_ Xemnas.

"Fine," he said. "I'll do it."

Xemnas smiled.


	16. Fighting the Flames

Creating a Replica entirely from someone's memories was a challenge, it turned out. A challenge that Vexen enjoyed perhaps more than he would have liked. (The years had taught him that every Replica was more than an experiment, they were a  _person,_ each and every one, but… It was hard to not get caught up in the joy of the process.) He'd crafted Replicas from fragments and mixtures of data before, so it creating one from only memories wasn't an  _impossible_ task, it was just…

Memories were a slippery kind of data. They were never exact, and they were always tainted by emotions and other things.

Namine was coming along well, though, Vexen thought.  _Especially_  considering the lack of accurate data he had to work with. Then again, Replicating appearance was the easy part. It was the personality that would be tricky, but then… He had some ideas, for that.

"How much longer will it be?" Marluxia asked.

"Hard to say," Vexen answered, not looking up from his computer. He knew it would be somewhere around another hour, at the very least, but didn't see the need to tell Marluxia that.

"Well I hope it doesn't take too long," came Axel's voice. He appeared in the room a moment later. Vexen sent a glare up at him.  _Must_ he keep doing that? "Riku's just killed Larxene."

"I still need more time," Vexen said, keeping his head down so they wouldn't see his smile. This was exactly what he'd been hoping for. "If I rush, then Namine will be of no use to you at all."

"Then Axel, you go stall," Marluxia instructed.

Axel shrugged. "Alright, whatever." He left.

"Hurry, Vexen," Marluxia said, then he too left.

Vexen rolled his eyes. Marluxia was infuriating, but it was no matter.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" asked Vexen Replica Number 3, now that Marluxia and Axel were gone. He'd wisely kept quiet while they were here, which… Well, it wasn't a rule Vexen had instated or enforced, but nor was it one he had discouraged. The rest of the Organization certainly  _tolerated_ his Replicas, but that was about it. The Replicas didn't need to get themselves killed for saying something stupid at the wrong time.

3 stood at the computer across from Vexen, the newly-built Namine laying on the table in between them. Most of her appearance was in place, and she looked peaceful, as if merely asleep.

"It will," Vexen said, confidently.

Xemnas had asked him to build a Replica, so that's what he was doing. But if Riku came and stole Namine away before they could do anything with her, then who's fault was that? Certainly not Vexen's. He would do his part, and then he could not be blamed for the consequences.

It was a risky gamble, for sure, but Vexen had seen Riku's memories. And… Riku had already killed Larxene, which was the battle Vexen had been most worried about.

Yes, Vexen felt quite good about his odds.

**xxx**

There was a sudden whooshing noise behind him, and Riku turned, just in time to dodge out of the way of Axel's chakrams. They flew past him and then boomeranged back to their owner. Axel caught them with ease and cracked a smile.

"What do you want?" Riku asked, a bit annoyed. There wasn't much about Axel that he had a grudge against, and he had honestly been hoping they wouldn't run into each other. But, no matter what, Axel was still part of the Organization, and it would probably be better if he was gone.

"Not even going to bother to introduce yourself?" Axel asked.

"Do I need to?"

Axel shrugged. "I don't know, do you? I think we might as well anyways. My name's Axel, got it memorized?"

"Yeah" Riku replied gruffly. "I'm Riku."

"Good, now that we know each other-" Axel paused, and with a wave of his hand fire rose around the walls of the room. Riku tensed immediately, ready to attack. "Let's try not to kill anyone."

"Like I'd lose to you!" Riku replied, and the fight began.

Riku rolled out of the way of a flurry of flames, and then shot Dark Firaga at Axel, who blocked it with his chakrams. He laughed, surrounding his weapons with flame and then throwing them at Riku. He dodged them the first time, but they looped around and hit him again, causing him to fall to the ground.

He groaned, then stood up quickly and slashed at Axel, pulling a nice combo before Axel jumped off and hid in the flames. Riku looked around frantically, trying to predict where Axel would pop out next. "Stop hiding!" Riku shouted, annoyed, and Axel flew out of the flames and made a swipe at him with his chakrams. Riku back-flipped out of the way.

Axel brought up a pillar of fire to get Riku, only he quickly charged up Dark Aura and attacked Axel like crazy. He laughed, listening to Axel's moans of pain. After he landed though, Axel knocked him back into the wall of flame.

"It's not over yet!" Axel shouted, hitting him quite a few times with his chakrams.

Riku portalled himself out of the flames and to the other side of the room. He performed Helm Split quickly, attacking Axel with pillars of darkness. He shot Dark Firaga again shortly after that, and then followed up with a few quick slashes of his blade.

Axel portalled himself away and then tossed his chakrams at Riku. Riku blocked them with his blade, and then they flew back to their owner. Axel caught them quickly and then jumped back into the flames.

"Cut it out!" Riku shouted, shaking his fist. Axel popped out of the flames again and landed, causing a ring of fire to shoot out. Riku backed up quickly and then pulled Helm Split again, while Axel retaliated with many fire attacks. The room was filled with much darkness and fire as the two went all out in attacking each other.

Riku rushed forward and slashed Axel, and then Axel teleported to the side and attacked from behind. Riku charged up Dark Aura again, and did quite a bit of damage. When he finished off the attack, Axel happened to be standing right next to him, and was caught by the dark pillars.

Axel attacked with a large wall of flame, which threw Riku back into the wall of fire. Riku jumped out as soon as he could and threw Dark Firaga at Axel. Then he rushed forward and unleashed a fierce combo. Axel staggered back, and stood there, breathing heavily, as the walls of fire slowly dwindled down.

Riku doubled over also, for the battle had worn him out also. His clothes were singed and he hurt all over. His Dark Mode practically fell off of him; he was too exhausted to keep it going any longer.

"You're much better than I thought you were," Axel commented. Riku let out a small laugh, but he was too tired to truly appreciate the comment.

"You're not too bad yourself," he replied

Axel nodded, and the two spent a few moments in silence, each trying to regain their strength.

"Well, that was fun," Axel said finally, and he left.

"H- Hey!" Riku shouted. "Get back here!"

What had  _that_ been about? Why had Axel even picked a fight with him, anyway?


	17. The Plans

"Good morning," Vexen Replica 19 said to the newly awakened Namine.

"Um… Good morning?" she replied, blinking blearily into the light. "Who are you?"

"I am 19."

"19? That's a weird name."

"Ah, yes. Well. Anyway. Your name is Namine."

"Namine, huh…?"

Vexen couldn't help but smile to himself as he watched 19 put Namine through her paces. 19 definitely wasn't the best Replica for the job, but, well… He was the best one currently in Castle Oblivion. Vexen had evacuated most of the Replicas, just in case things with Riku got out of hand. And while it would have been a simple matter of no more than an hour to fetch 26 or perhaps 7, Vexen did not want to look like he was stalling.

Everything appeared to be going well, though. Namine was awake and functional, and that was all Vexen had really asked for.

Marluxia would expect her to have a personality similar to the other Namine's, as well as memories that would line up with Riku's. But Namine didn't. And she wouldn't. Vexen didn't have the time to fabricate any memories for her— _that_ would have taken weeks—nor did he have the desire to give her fake memories, either. And as for personality, well… That didn't matter much, either.

His favorite part of building Replicas was watching them grow, and become their own persons. Namine didn't need a preprogrammed personality for that, and she  _certainly_ didn't need a personality that matched the other Namine's. She could forge her own personality, and her own memories. It was only fair.

It was a shame he wouldn't get to see it, though.

Vexen pulled his attention away from her at the sound of someone clearing their throat. It was 3.

"I hate to bring it up again, Master Vexen," 3 said. "But are we quite certain she'll be alright?" He sent a glance through the window to Namine, worry written on his brow. He had the luxury of real emotions, where Vexen did not. He envied that of his Replicas. "The data from Riku's memories was more unstable than expected, even  _for_ memory files. I just fear that… If her data is unstable,  _especially_ considering your plan…" He trailed off, wisely not saying what he did not need to.

Vexen sighed.

"I know," he said. Namine seemed to be functioning alright, but then again, she'd only been awake for five minutes. There'd be no way to fix any instabilities in her data once she left here. It all had to be perfect  _now_. "We'll go through her data again. Try and clean it up, and reinforce it where we can. I just don't know what we're going to reinforce it with… We only have Riku's memories…"

3 shifted uncomfortably, where he stood.

"Actually… that is part of the reason I brought it up again," he said. He produced a card, and handed it over to Vexen. "A… stranger presented me with this. It's all data of Namine, it seems. I don't know where he got it."

"The other universe, perhaps?" Vexen suggested, raising his eyebrows as he turned the card over in his hands. It had been a passing wish in his mind, but one he'd been uncertain on embarking on. They had no idea how to travel between universes on a whim—and only scraps of proof that another universe even existed. This was not the time to be experimenting on those fronts. But, if that stranger who'd shown up only once to offer vague warnings had decided to drop by again, and provide him this… "Better not look a gift horse in the mouth," Vexen muttered.

"Do you think it's safe to use?" 3 pressed.

"I don't think there's any harm trying," Vexen said. There wasn't exactly another option. He looked up from the card, meeting 3's eyes. "Do you know if we have enough time? This is a large Castle, and hard to navigate, but sooner or later Riku's bound to—"

"Zexion picked a fight with him," 3 answered, before Vexen had quite finished expressing his worries. "So, we have some more time."

Vexen raised his eyebrows a fraction of an inch. Why would Zexion  _want_ to—Never mind. It didn't matter. Ienzo was Zexion, now, and Zexion had made it very clear he didn't need or want Vexen worrying over him. So, as much as it pained his non-existent heart, Vexen pushed thoughts of Zexion out of his mind. Zexion could do as he pleased.

"Alright." Vexen passed the card back to 3. "Go start sorting through this. I'll join you momentarily. I just have to wait for 19 to finish—ah!" 19 stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him.

3 nodded and left, and Vexen turned his attention to 19.

"So?" he asked. "How did it go?"

"She's functioning perfectly, as far as I can tell," 19 answered, a tad nervously. Vexen couldn't blame him for that. Again, 19 usually wasn't on new-Replica duty. "She, uh… she did mention…" He seemed to fumble with the words, like they were too strange to speak aloud.

"Yes?" Vexen pressed. "Spit it out." Every bit of information was important, surely 19 knew that.

19 took a deep breath.

"She mentioned having… dreams, somehow, even though she's barely been active ten minutes. And she- she mentioned Riku." 19 frowned deeply, clearly still puzzling out what he'd been told. "Like she… almost remembered him, even though she couldn't—shouldn't be able to." 19 shook his head.

Vexen thought it over.

"Hmm… I wonder, if somehow, his memories are leaking into hers?" he said aloud. They'd never built a Replica  _entirely_ from memories before. There were a lot of things about the process they didn't totally understand.

"Do you think it'll be a problem?" 19 asked, worriedly.

"No," Vexen assured him. It was not a total truth, but emotions were as much of a luxury as a burden, to his Replicas. Vexen knew 19 would only stress if he told him otherwise. "And if it is, I'll find a way to fix it." Maybe he  _should_ send someone to go get 7, after all. 7 was often better than Vexen himself was at fixing data instabilities. (Unsurprising, really, given all the practice he'd had.)

But no, no… Only if something was truly wrong. There was no sense bothering 7 otherwise. It couldn't look like he was stalling.

"May I go now, Master Vexen?" 19 asked.

Vexen laughed a little. "Yes, yes, 19. You may go."

19 bowed his head and then hurried off. Vexen only shook his head and headed himself to where 3 would be waiting.

**xxx**

"I think it would be best if you didn't continue." Zexion said. Riku glared at him. He was still drained from his last battle, and had a feeling that Dark Mode wouldn't be an option this time around. Hopefully, fighting would be minimal or none at all, but he could only hope.

"Why not?" he asked warily.

"It doesn't matter! You just need to leave!"

"I won't even consider leaving until you give me a good reason of why I should do so," Riku retorted.

"Is your freedom reason enough?" Zexion replied. "They'll enslave you if you continue! You'll become Marluxia's pawn!"

"Like I'd let that happen!" Riku snapped. "I'm no longer bound by the Organization. They can't control me!"

"But aren't you still bound by an old promise?"

"What-" Riku stared in shock. He couldn't possibly mean… "What do you mean by that? What are you talking about!"

"Do you not remember?" Zexion seemed appalled. "The promise you  _swore_  you'd keep, no matter what. Are you telling me that it no longer matters to you?"

He took a second to think, then realized what Zexion was getting at. "Namine…" Riku whispered. "Of course it still matters!"

"Then leave! If you stay they'll use that promise against you!"

Riku paused, then summoned his blade. Zexion stared at him in disbelief. "You'd rather fight me, when I'm doing you a favor by warning you of their plot? You don't even have any strength left, how do you expect to win?"

"It doesn't matter. If you're trying to tell me that Namine's here, and then expect me to leave, you're insane. I can't abandon her!"

"That's what I've been trying to warn you about! Your devotion to this promise will be your downfall!" Zexion summoned his book and opened it, running a finger down the page until he found what he was looking for. "But if it's a fight you want-" he paused, then looked up and grinned. "Then it's a fight you shall get!"


	18. Illusions

A blinding light filled the room, and as soon as it cleared Riku was shocked to find another Riku standing in front of him. He glared, confused. Something wasn't right…

"Hey fake" the other Riku laughed. "You want a rematch? Or are you just too scared to fight?"

"Why would I be afraid of you?" he replied. He was unsure of what was going on, but maybe he could use some of the old tricks… "You're just a wimp who's afraid of the dark!"

"And you're exactly like me!"

He laughed and shook his head. "You're wrong. We may share the same looks, and even the same talents, but I am SO different. We each have our own struggles, our own problems, and our own feelings. I've learned that it doesn't matter that I'm like you, because I'm ME and no one else."

The other Riku leaned back and formed up a ball of Dark Firaga and shot it at Riku. He laughed and blocked it with his blade, throwing it back. The other Riku gasped as he was hit by his own spell and fell over.

The other Riku's form shifted. Riku smirked.

"I had a feeling it was you, Zexion" he said. Zexion gasped and pushed himself into an upright position.

"Hmm… you're quick to see through my illusion… I must try a new tactic-" Zexion muttered, before disappearing.

"Hey, Riku," Sora's voice was unmistakable, and yet he shouldn't have been here either. Riku frowned. It was most likely Zexion again, trying to fool him. If it was, he was doing a terrible job at it.

"I thought I told you to stay home," Riku said angrily. He'd play with Zexion's illusion for the moment.

"I've got to protect Namine!" Sora replied.

Riku shook his head and turned. "Stop playing these games Zexion. I thought it was clear; my past does not bother me. These tricks aren't doing you any good."

Sora's form shifted back to Zexion. "But that's impossible! You used to hate being a replica, and your past drove you nuts!"

"Not anymore! I've moved on."

"Well, we'll just see about that!" Blinding light filled the room once again. Riku looked around, wondering what illusion could possibly come next. He did a double take though when he saw her.

"Namine?" he whispered

She turned slowly, looking a bit scared. She brightened instantly when she saw him. "Riku!" she said, grinning. He kept staring. This could easily be another illusion- "You came!" the doubt of this moment was blown out of his mind.

"Of course I did" he said, smiling. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Zexion said-"

"Zexion?" Riku frowned, and doubt crept into his mind again. Where had Zexion gone anyways? They were talking only a moment ago, he probably didn't just run off. Something definitely wasn't right here…

"Is something wrong?" Namine asked

"No," he replied. Something at the back of his mind nagged at him but he pushed it aside.

"Good, I'm glad you're here"

"Me too." He reached out and grabbed her hand. "You wouldn't believe what I went through to make it here." He laughed, just thinking about it. There had been that fight with Axel, and that battle had left him tired. He was still tired, but not nearly as much as he had been. It was a good thing he didn't fight Zexion.

He gasped suddenly and turned around, dropping her hand. He looked, but Zexion was nowhere in sight.

"Riku, are you sure everything's okay?" Namine asked.

"Yeah," he replied slowly, turning back around. "Just a bit jumpy." It was almost as if his mouth had a mind of its own. "I fought with Axel just before coming here."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm-" he stopped, as Namine flickered and disappeared. His fists clenched and rage flooded through him. How could he have fallen for this? "Show yourself coward!" he shouted.

Zexion appeared, at first with a slightly scared look on his face. It was replaced by one of satisfaction. Riku rushed towards him, and the satisfied look changed to one of shock as Riku attacked.

"If it hadn't been for Axel's needless meddling that illusion would have fooled you!" Zexion shouted.

"What does Axel have to do with this?" Riku asked, throwing Dark Firaga at Zexion. He followed up with a few quick slashes. Zexion staggered back and stared at Riku in shock. It was insane! All this fuss over a stupid promise.

But Zexion had proved one thing. Riku would do anything for Namine. And that's why it was so important that he got him out of the Castle. It would be easy for Marluxia to convince Riku into joining him, and once that happened he'd be unstoppable.

Riku turned and started to leave.

"Wait!" Zexion called, "You do not know the trap they have ahead for you! You can't continue!"

"Shut up!" Riku yelled, tired of Zexion's protests. It was getting annoying. This should have been clear. Fatigue threatened to overcome him, but he did his best to muster up enough strength to shoot just one more Dark Firaga—

He didn't need to.

One of Axel's chakrams went right thru Zexion's chest from behind.

"Axel!" Zexion shouted. "What is the meaning of this!?"

"Sorry," replied Axel, who'd finished appearing behind Zexion. He didn't sound sorry at all. He pulled his chakram back out, and Zexion fell forward, clutching at his chest.

Zexion turned to look over his shoulder at Axel. His body was already starting to fade.

"We were  _on the same side,_ " Zexion spat. "You and I both know that if Riku continues, it's only Marluxia who benefits, not the rest of the Organization. So how could you—"

"The thing is, Zexion," Axel said, smiling widely. "You were in  _my_ way."

Zexion spluttered in confusion, but he faded completely before he could manage anything coherent.

"What the  _hell_ …?" Riku whispered, staring in shock. That had been…  _something_.

Axel just smiled and waved casually at him. "See ya, Riku," he said, and then he vanished through a dark corridor.

Riku considered the spot Axel had just stood in, and the spot Zexion had just faded from, with narrowed eyes. Then his vision swam, and he staggered.

The adrenaline that had been fueling him was fading away, and his breathing was growing heavy. He only managed to remain standing for a few more seconds before collapsing to his knees.

His strength had officially run out. His breath was all shaky, and he hurt all over. He struggled just to get air into his lungs. He was tired too, exhausted, in fact. He couldn't even remember the last time he had slept.

He vowed he would continue, but AFTER his strength returned.


	19. Master of the Program

Vexen drummed his fingers on his keyboard impatiently. He did not have a heart to worry with, but the way thoughts would not stop rolling through his head was remarkably similar. He and 3 had reinforced Namine's data, making it stable, and clearing up all the problems there had been. (And, there  _had_ been a few problems, they just hadn't shown until Namine'd been active for more than thirty minutes.) That was all fixed now, but…

There were still so many things that could go wrong, with his plan. Larxene and Zexion were dead, and Axel had vanished. That only left himself and Marluxia as the only two remaining Organization members alive in Castle Oblivion. There was no way Marluxia would confront Riku, so Vexen would have to goad Riku into taking the fight to Marluxia. Theoretically, not a hard task. It was just the matter of doing it without being discovered.

This was treachery, in a sense. If he was found out, Xemnas would do away with him for sure.

Vexen could do this, though. It was a simple matter of approaching Riku and telling him where Namine was, and where Marluxia was. 23 was on duty to make sure there was no incriminating security footage. It was easy, really.

But Vexen was still—no, not nervous. He just couldn't stop thinking of all the ways this could possibly go wrong.

"Once she's finished processing, feel free to move her to her room," Vexen told 3 and 19. 3, because he was going to stay here and make sure nothing went wrong, and 19, because he had taken up an almost uncharacteristic investment in Namine. "But, I really should be back before then." Talking to Riku would take only a matter of minutes, after all.

"We'll see to it, Master Vexen," 3 said.

19 nodded with enthusiastic agreement.

Vexen sent a smile at the both of them. "I really will be right back, though."

"Are you sure you don't want one of us to do it instead?" 3 ventured. "Surely Riku might be more likely to trust another Replica… And that way the responsibility falls on us, rather than…"

"It'll be fine," Vexen said. He'd considered the option himself, but… He could not willingly shunt the blame on his Replicas, even if they were willing. Xemnas might spare Vexen, but he certainly wouldn't think twice about slaughtering a treacherous Replica.

"Alright," 3 sighed. "Good luck, Master Vexen."

Vexen chuckled. "Thank you," he said, though it wasn't like he'd need the luck. All he was doing was explaining the situation to Riku. Despite what the churning of his thoughts told him, it was going to be fine.

**xxx**

Riku came to a halt, as a dark corridor opened in front of him. He could not exactly say he was surprised when it was Vexen who stepped out.

 _But not the Vexen you know, remember,_ he told himself.  _Parallel universes. Parallel Vexens._ He didn't bother pushing down the irritation in his stomach, though. He doubted the Vexens were  _that_ different.

"Ah, Riku, so we finally meet," Vexen said. It almost sounded like he was striking up a casual conversation, based on his tone.

Riku tried not to laugh. He pulled out his blade.

"What do you want?" he asked. And then, thinking perhaps Vexen might be more forthcoming than Zexion, he followed with: "Is Namine here?"

Vexen had his hands clenched together at his waist, like he was nervous about something. Weird.

"Yes," Vexen said. "Would you like to see her?"

Riku scrunched up his face. Namine…  _was_ here? It was that easy? His stomach seemed to roil inside him.  _Of course, she'd be the Namine from this universe,_ he told himself, excitement faltering a little.  _But so? If she's here, I can't just leave her!_

Darkness sparked in his free hand. He glared at Vexen.

"What's the catch?" he spat.

Vexen raised his eyebrows, seeming surprised. "Catch? There is no catch."

Riku burst out laughing at that.

"Come on, I know there's no way you'd just let me walk off with her if she was here," he said. "So either there's a catch, or this is a trick."

Vexen held up his hands in surrender.

"No, no," he said, still all-too-politely for comfort. "No catch. No trick, either."

"Tch. Like I'd trust you."

Riku readied his blade and ran straight at Vexen. Maybe if he was lucky, this would be over in one blow. Vexen reacted quickly enough, though, shield bursting forth in front of him before Riku's blade could meet his gut. The air temperature seemed to drop ten degrees.

"Riku, please," Vexen said sternly. "I don't have a lot of time to explain."

"Oh shut it." Riku jumped back, eyeing Vexen. The shield didn't leave a lot of openings, but maybe if he was fast enough to catch Vexen from behind?

"I don't want to fight you," Vexen said, calmly.

"Yeah, well, I don't want to fall for one of your tricks." Maybe if he used a Dark Firaga to catch Vexen off guard? Vexen normally wasn't the kind to trick, Riku admitted, but Vexen definitely wasn't the most trustworthy, either. The memory of betrayal was still hot on Riku's mind.

( _A different Vexen,_ he reminded himself. But did it matter?)

"It's not a trick." Vexen was starting to sound impatient, now. Good, just like Riku remembered. "Listen. I'm not here to stand between you and Namine, I just needed to clear a few things up. Marluxia—you'll have to finish him off, if you hope to leave here—"

"Aha! So there  _is_ a catch!"

"Well I suppose by sheer necessity of the situation, yes, there is!"

Riku scoffed and shook his head, hand tightening on his blade. Last time Vexen had asked him for help ( _demanded_  help of him, really) to do something about Marluxia, it had ended with his memories getting messed with. Not a second time, Riku thought.

"If Namine's here, I'll find her on my own!" he shouted.

He let Dark Firaga fly from his fingertips. Vexen ducked behind his shield.

"Now, hold on—" Vexen spluttered.

Riku'd used a dark corridor to move himself just behind Vexen, though. He drove his blade through Vexen's chest before Vexen could say anything more.

Vexen's shield vanished. The air temperature must have dropped another twenty degrees.

"No." Vexen's voice came out shaky, quiet. "No, no, no no no no no."

There was something so clearly like distress in his tone that Riku took a step back. Something crunched under his feet. Frost.

Vexen fell to his knees, muttering unintelligible things. But even though Riku couldn't make sense of the words, the terror and desperation that made Vexen's words catch and his voice crack was more than clear. Something remarkably like guilt tugged in Riku's chest. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea.

He watched as Vexen fumbled with what looked like a Cure of some sort, and then the darkness gathered around him as if for a dark corridor. The dark corridor didn't complete, though. Vexen's body collapsed into darkness and shards of ice.

Riku let the blade vanish from his hand.

"I- I…" he said, to the empty room.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there before he finally remembered Namine. Namine was here, Vexen had said so. She was all that mattered—telling himself that was the only way Riku could make himself tear his gaze away from the melting ice on the floor.

Getting Namine out of here safe was all that mattered.


	20. The Replica Program

23 staggered into the room via dark corridor. 3 and 19 looked up from what they were doing in surprise. Master Vexen can't have left more than two minutes ago.

"23?" 19 asked, noticing 23's distress. "Is something wrong?"

"Master Vexen, he's-" 23 broke off for a second, struggling with the words. There was a vague look in his eyes. "He's dead."

3 took a step back, as if struck. 19 cringed and lowered his head.

"H- How?" 3 stammered, as if he didn't already know.

"Riku killed him," 23 answered, shaking his head like he still couldn't believe it. "I don't know why. I couldn't hear what they were saying, I only saw it…"

3 pounded his fist against the computer desk, shaking with rage. "I should have gone," he said. "I knew that Riku wasn't going to listen to him. And if I had died—"

"Master Vexen would have never forgiven himself," 19 argued before 3 could finish. "You know that."

3 hung his head.

"What… do we do now?" 23 asked, looking between his companions.

3 let out a long sigh. "If Master Vexen is dead, then… That leaves the Program in my hands," he said, at length. He pulled away from the computer he stood at. "I should- I should go begin preparing. It won't be an easy transition."

"What about Namine?" 19 asked, fretfully. He sent a nervous glance down at where she still lay.

"Her data will finish processing without me standing here to supervise it," 3 said.

"Yes, but, how will I wake her once she is finished?" 19 grimaced at the computer. He was useless with computers.

"She'll wake up on her own, in a couple hours," 3 assured him. "I need to go."

He left before 19 could ask anymore.

"We should go tell Riku about Namine," 19 said, turning to 23. It pained him to leave her unattended, but she would be fine for a few minutes.

23 raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asked. "I know that's what we planned, but—" He trailed off, but 19 knew him well enough to know his misgivings were about Riku, after what Riku had just done.

19 thought of Namine, though. There was no chance for her, if she stayed here. Master Vexen had been certain of that, and 19 was certain they'd get nasty orders from the Organization to do…  _something_ with her, if she stayed. He didn't want to think about  _that_ in much detail.

19 thought also, of the binder of pictures in his room, and the promise he made…

He had a lot of reasons, as to why he was certain Namine had to get out of here, and as to why he was certain Riku was her best chance.

But he told 23 the one reason that 23 would also understand.

"It's what Master Vexen would have wanted."

**xxx**

Riku stopped abruptly as not one, but  _two_ dark corridors opened in front of him. He went to summon his blade, but forgot about it once he recognized who was standing in front of him. Vexen.

And not just one Vexen, but  _two._

"Didn't- Didn't I kill you?" he asked.

The Vexens exchanged uneasy looks.

"Well…" one began.

"Actually…" started the other.

"We're- we're Replicas," said the first. "Vexen Replicas. I'm 19, and he's 23."

"I- oh."

Riku's mind reeled. Vexen  _Replicas_. There were  _other Replicas?_ He couldn't remember any Replicas besides himself in the other universe. Maybe there'd been one more? He thought he remembered there being one more, but the memories of them—whoever they were—were fuzzier and vaguer than the rest of his memories.

"How many of there are you?" Riku asked.

19 and 23 exchanged glances.

"Vexens?" 23 asked.

"Or Replicas, total?"

Riku spluttered again.

"There are  _more_ than just Vexens!?"

19 and 23 nodded in unison.

"There are many of, well… quite a few other Organization members," 19 answered.

"About… a hundred and…" 23 trailed off, tapping at his chin. He looked to 19. "I suppose it'd be easier to just list how many have been built, then trying to remember how many are currently—" He broke off then, looking a little frustrated. "Not that it matters! That's not why we're even here, 19."

Riku wanted to ask what they  _were_ here for, but he was still reeling. Over a  _hundred_ Replicas? Where were they all! Was there one of  _every_ Organization member?  _Multiple_ of every Organization member? The thought made him a little queasy. The thought of there being so many Replicas at all made him feel… he wasn't sure.

But he found himself thinking, vaguely, that he hoped the Organization was kinder to its Replicas, here.

"Right. Anyway, Riku, listen," 19 said. "About Namine…"

Riku pulled himself out of his thoughts, shooting a glare at the Replicas. "What about her?" he asked, cautiously. "If this is you trying to finish what the Real Vexen started—"

"It's  _not_ a trick!" 23 snapped. He sounded upset.

"Master Vexen didn't want to Replicate Namine," 19 added, hastily. "But Xemnas forced him. He was hoping to just hand her over to you once she was finished. He figured it was her best chance of having any kind of nice life."

"Oh…" Riku said slowly. Did he think this was a trick? It was starting to sound less and less like one. Namine was a Replica, here…? Then… He pulled out his blade, wanting to look threatening, not sure how else to get the truth out of them. "Tell me the truth. Can she- can she control memories?"

The Vexen Replicas staggered back, startled by his blade.

After they had recovered from the suddenness of being threatened, though, 19 began to laugh.

"Oh, goodness, no!" he said. "She only resembles the Namine you know in appearance alone. Marluxia wanted her to have memories that matched yours, but those would have taken weeks to construct and…" 19 smiled a little wryly. "I said Master Vexen didn't want to be building her, didn't I? The thought of her being used was abhorrent to him."

"Oh," Riku said, again. Maybe killing Vexen really hadn't been such a good idea? Oops. Things definitely seemed a lot different in this universe…

"I didn't even know she was supposed to have memory manipulation abilities," 23 said, ignoring Riku. "Could we have Replicated an ability like that?"

19 shook his head. "Certainly not without a more concrete scan of the other Namine's data, that's for sure."

Riku was pretty sure this wasn't a trick now, which, was a good thing. He wanted to ask if he could see Namine, but… Maybe it'd be safer, to get rid of Marluxia, first. If Marluxia was gone, then there'd be no one left to trick him, that was for sure.

"Where's Marluxia?" he asked the Vexens.

"Hiding from you, likely," 23 laughed.

19 pointed upwards.

"Somewhere on the 13th floor," he answered. "I'm not sure where exactly, but…"

"Thanks," Riku said, pushing past them.


	21. The Last Battle

Finding Marluxia was a little harder than Riku would have liked, but now that Riku had found him, he didn't hesitate.

He ran at Marluxia, leaping into the air, blade already drawn. He came crashing down on Marluxia, but Marluxia got his scythe up in plenty time to block. Riku kept pressing against it, as if he intended to drill through Marluxia's guard with sheer force alone.

"YOU WERE GOING TO USE NAMINE!" he screamed, rage boiling hot in him. "I HATE YOU."

Marluxia sneered. "Well it would have worked, had Vexen only finished in time," he said. He knocked Riku back, swinging his scythe in an arch through the air.

Riku caught his balance, glaring daggers.

"What are you talking about?" he spat, laughing bitterly.

"For Namine, you would have done anything," Marluxia answered, smiling widely.

Riku laughed. "Yeah, and apparently whoever dug through my memories didn't do enough digging," he said. "I  _hated_ the Organization because of how they treated her. Sooner or later, I would have betrayed you all for her sake!"

Marluxia only smiled wider.

"You would have stayed in line, so long as it meant her safety," he argued.

Riku stopped short. Memories flashed through his mind unbidden. Larxene, awful, terrible. He'd wanted to murder her, but—he'd known he couldn't win. And he was scared of leaving Namine to face the Organization on her own. Hated to know that she might get hurt, for his sake—

He pushed the memories out of his head, grinding his teeth together. He didn't want to think about it. It didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was right now.

"It doesn't matter!" Riku roared, running at Marluxia. "YOUR PLAN IS DEAD, AND SO ARE YOU!"

"You may have defeated Larxene and everyone else so easily, but think again if you expect me to go down that quick!"

Bitterly, Riku launched into Dark Aura. Marluxia swung his scythe, catching him in the stomach and knocking him out of the air mid-attack. Riku hit the opposite wall hard, groaning.

He sat there for a second with his eyes closed, fighting off the pain. When he opened his eyes, Marluxia was hovering in the air in front of him, scythe raised ready to strike.

Marluxia slashed his blade downwards, causing an energy ripple the shape of his blade to lash out. Riku barely rolled out of the way and threw Dark Firaga again. When Marluxia was stunned by that, he pulled Dark Aura again and successfully preformed it this time.

Marluxia staggered back, glaring murder. He summoned three whirlwinds of petals, and sent them all at Riku. Riku ran, attempting land a hit on Marluxia as he rushed past. He had to keep running though. He jumped and kicked off a wall, and flipped over a slightly surprised Marluxia. The whirlwinds stopped and the petals came shooting at him like missiles. As it was impossible to avoid them due to being mid-flip, Riku suffered major damage. Marluxia swung his scythe, and knocked Riku back. He hit the ground with a  _thud_  and slid back a few feet due to the momentum. He groaned.

 _Gotta dodge that stupid scythe,_ he thought bitterly.  _This is the second time this happened._  He jumped to his feet and quickly threw Dark Firaga, before rushing forward and pulling a combo or two. He quickly jumped back out of the way to avoid being hit again.

"Your attempts are pathetic," Marluxia laughed, slamming his scythe into the ground. A crack slowly snaked through the ground from the impact point. The crack grew larger, and more cracks grew. Riku jumped out of the way just in time as a large fissure appeared right under him.

"Is that all you got?" Riku taunted.

Suddenly, Marluxia threw his scythe at Riku. It spun, catching speed as it went. It spun faster and faster, heading right towards him. Thinking quick, Riku dropped to the floor. The scythe flipped past right over his head, just barely.

Riku took a second to breathe, making sure the scythe wasn't going to come back like a boomerang. He then sprung forward and leapt into the air, bringing his blade crashing down.

There was a pause. Almost no movement. One second passed, two seconds, each filled silence. The moment passed, Marluxia stumbled back and screamed. He reached forward as he started to fade, possibly trying to summon his scythe (which happened to be embedded in the opposite wall). His essence was fading, and flower petals surrounded him. The flower petals seemed to be eating him away. Soon, nothing but a puff of darkness was left of him, and flower petals fell slowly to the floor.

He was gone.


	22. Homecoming

Riku stood there for a long moment, breathing heavily now that Marluxia was gone. He'd done it. He'd really done it! Now he could go see Namine—

Except. He'd forgotten to ask where she was.

Riku scowled hard, banishing his blade and letting Dark Mode fall away. This was a very large castle… There was no way he'd be able to find her…

Someone behind him cleared their throat, though. Riku turned, and to his relief saw one of the Vexen Replicas.

"19," he introduced himself, as Riku approached. "I'm glad that went well. I'd… well, no, I hadn't really worried. Anyway." He cleared his throat. "We never got a chance to tell you where Namine was."

"Can you tell me?" Riku asked.

19 nodded. The idea seemed to make him quite happy.

"Here, it'll be easier if I just…" He held out a hand beside him and formed a dark corridor.

"Oh!" Riku said, a little surprised. But, he supposed, that  _would_ be much easier. "Uh, thanks," he said, as he ducked through.

The corridor let out into a room. A… bedroom? It was a nice little room, actually, decently furnished, even if everything was a pure white. Namine was asleep on the bed. At the sight of her, Riku's breath caught in his chest.

"She'll sleep for a little while longer," 19 told him, quietly. "But she'll wake up on her own, so don't worry." He smiled at Riku—for some, weird reason—and then left through the door, which he closed behind him.

Riku shrugged to himself, and then turned back to Namine.

He wasn't sure… what to do. What to think. She looked just like he remembered her, but… She was a different Namine. This universe's Namine. A Replica. And that was… fine, really. But he couldn't help the twinge of disappointment in his chest.

All that there was left to do now was to take her back to Destiny Islands. He supposed he should wait until she woke up, but… the thought of staying here any longer was making his skin crawl. So, gently, he picked her up in his arms. He didn't notice, but a small smile spread across Namine's face. Her right hand clenched in a tight fist around something that she clutched to her chest.

Riku took a breath and then opened a dark corridor, heading back to Destiny Islands.

**xxx**

It was sometime much later, and Riku sat on the shore. Namine lay in the sand next to him, still asleep. She had yet to wake up, and didn't have the nerve to wake her. He glanced at her nervously from time to time, unsure of what to do. It was during one of these glances that he noticed something. Namine was clutching something very tightly in her hand. His eyes darted to her sleeping face, then back to her hand. Curiosity got the better of him, and he pried her fingers open gently. She had been holding onto a crumpled ball of paper.

Slowly, he unfolded it and tried to smooth it out. He glanced over it, and found tears welling up in his eyes. It was a drawing of him. Written to the side of the page was:

> _I have no idea who you are, but… I keep thinking of you. I close my eyes, and I see your smile. When the world is quiet, I hear your voice. But… Who are you? You seem_ _so familiar, and yet, I can't remember you._
> 
> _You're in my thoughts while I'm awake. You're in my dreams when I sleep. You must be important… I'm sorry I can't remember._

Riku read over the message a few more times, then pressed a hand to his face, trying not to cry. How could she possibly know of him at all? He didn't know, and he felt awful, awful that he'd caused her confusion, made her feel guilty.

He wasn't sure how he'd explain, or what he'd say to her, but… He had until she woke up to do so.

He neatly folded up the picture and put it in his pocket, turning back out to the horizon.

"Guess I really am starting over, huh?" he mused to himself, with a bitter smile.


	23. Epilogue

She awoke to the sound of waves. It was a soothing sound, and she was tempted to let it lull her back to sleep again. Her mind quickly snapped into shock as she realized something. She unclenched her right hand and clenched it again, almost hoping to find it there when she double checked. But it wasn't there.

"Oh no!" she gasped, sitting up, feeling around. But the paper was gone.

"Something wrong?" someone asked. He was sitting next to her, looking at her curiously. She recognized him. It was that one boy she had drawn in the picture. The picture that she had lost. She was devastated, the picture was meant for him, and she couldn't even give it to him.

"Shoot," she whispered, turning away. What had happened to it? "The picture," she said. "I had a picture and-" she stopped as the boy reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.

"This picture?" he asked, handing it to her. She took it and unfolded it. Relief flooded through her.

"Y-yeah" she said, looking around. There was nothing but ocean to one side of her. She sat on a beach, sand was EVERYWHERE. "W-where am I?" she asked, panic creeping into her voice.

The boy smiled. The smile was kind, and familiar, yet it did little to sooth her uneasiness. "Destiny Islands" he replied. "Don't worry, you're safe."

"But, wait-" she looked around a bit more. "How did I get here?" She couldn't remember much. In fact, other than the picture, it was hard to remember anything before waking up here.

"I couldn't leave you there, now could I?"

"Leave me?" she as very confused. "So you—" He nodded before she could even finish the question. She stared at him as he turned his gaze back towards the horizon. Silence passed. She thought hard, trying to see if she could remember him. She knew she knew him, but from where?

"You don't remember me, do you?" he asked quietly after a moment.

"No," she replied sadly, feeling terrible.

"No! Don't feel bad!" he told her. "It's not your fault."

She looked at the picture in her hand, and then slowly handed it to him. "I've been thinking of you though…" she said quietly. He took the paper and nodded, and slowly stuck it in his pocket again.

"I know. I've seen," he explained simply. "You're good at drawing, you know?"

"Thanks," she whispered, blushing.

"My name's Riku, by the way," he said.

"I'm Namine," she replied, even though she had a feeling he already knew that. Silence passed yet again. Nervously, she spoke up: "So who are you, exactly?" She had been afraid to ask at first, but she was dying to know. "Like, to me?"

He didn't answer at first. His fist clenched, then relaxed, then clenched again, like a nervous twitch. Finally, he answered: "I'm not entirely sure, who I am to you. I know who you are to me, though. You're-" he paused, shook his head, and then laughed. "Great, now I can't say it. I sat here for like an hour, trying to figure out what I was going to say when you woke up, and now I can't work up the nerve to say it."

"Say what?"

"Namine…" His voice got quiet, barely above a whisper. "You're everything to me."

She stared at him. "Wh-what?" she asked. He smiled again.

"I know, I could have probably explained that better. But it's true. And complicated, since you don't remember." He sighed, and she looked away. "Hey! I already told you not to feel bad about it," he said firmly.

"But…  _why_ can't I remember?" she asked as she turned to look at him again.

His smile faded and he turned away. "I'm not sure," he said quickly and a bit rough.

She looked at him and frowned. Something wasn't right. Hoping to change the subject to something lighter, and something he would be willing to talk about, she said: "So, why exactly couldn't you leave me?"

The smile returned to his face, though it was a bit uneasy. "I promised you. I promised I'd keep you safe. If I had just left you in Castle Oblivion, I would have broken that promise."

"Riku… I- I don't remember…" she whispered.

"I know," he replied. He grabbed her hand. "That's why I'll say it again. I will protect you. I promise." He squeezed her hand. She looked up at him, and couldn't help but smile herself. The look of determination on his face, and that twinkle in his eyes; she knew he meant it. And for a second, she kind of remembered. Or maybe, it was the memory within his heart resonating with the faint traces of memory within hers. She squeezed his hand back.

They sat there for a while, enjoying the moment. It broke when someone shouted from behind: "Riku!"

They dropped hands, and Riku turned. As soon as he caught sight of who it was, he laughed. Sora and Kairi were running towards them.

"Took them long enough to realize I was here" he muttered, standing up. He held his hand out to Namine, who took it, and he helped her to her feet.

"Hey Riku, when did you get back?" Sora asked.

"Not long ago" Riku replied.

"And who's this?" Kairi asked, looking at Namine.

"I'm Namine," she said.

"I'm Sora."

"I'm Kairi."

"Riku, you've GOT to tell us what happened while you were gone," Sora said.

Kairi nodded in agreement. "Yeah, maybe you can tell us over dinner."

"We can head back to my place," Sora suggested. "My mom's getting pizza tonight."

Riku turned to Namine. She shrugged, looking completely clueless as to what was going on. Riku smiled and turned back to Sora. "Sure," he said.

"Alright, let's go!" Sora ran off, Kairi following after him.

"I'm not running!" Riku called after them.

"Has your life always been like this?" Namine asked.

Riku shook his head. "No," he said with a shrug. "But this is how it's been ever since I came here. Now come on, I'm not so sure about you, but I'm starving." Namine laughed, and the two followed after Sora and Kairi.


	24. BONUS SCENE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This scene was absent from TTH when it was initially posted in 2010, this scene added only in 2017. It's not my best work, but I thought it might be nice to cover this even which up until recently had been missing from FtPverse canon.

Reporting how the events of Castle Oblivion had failed was not something 3 could say he was looking forward to. He didn't technically have to report anything—Axel could take care of that. But… 3 had a duty to the Replica Program. According to Master Vexen's wishes, all power over the Program lay in 3's hands. He had to make that clear.

Being a Replica, he wasn't allowed to sit in the chairs. So Axel got to sit in his, and 3 stood on the floor in the center of the room. Xemnas and Xigbar and Saix were all here. Why Saix was, 3 could not fathom. (Well, he could not fathom why Xigbar was here either, really, but you learned to accept Xigbar's constant presence at Xemnas's side.) 3 stood in the center of the room, and he waited for his turn to speak.

Axel did most of the talking. 3 interjected occasionally to cover for Master Vexen. "Riku was unpredictable," he said. "We weren't given enough time to fully execute the plan," he said. If Master Vexen were here, he would probably tell Xemnas that it served him right, but that was not 3's place.

"And, anyway," Axel said, laughing. "Turns out Marluxia and Larxene were traitors, so I guess it all worked out well enough. Shame about Vexen, though."

"Is that why you're here, whichever-number-you-are?" Xigbar called down at 3. "Ol' Flamesilocks here could've given us the mission report without your input, so I figure you have something to say...?"

"Well, now that Master Vexen is dead, the Replica Program is under my jurisdiction. I just wanted to make that clear." As soon as 3 said it, he realized his mistake in coming here. There had been no need to tell Xemnas directly. He should have carried on as normal, and only brought it up when confronted.

Because, even from this distance he could see the flash of Xemnas's eyes. The way Xigbar's smile widened.

"It really is a shame," Xemnas said.

3 wasn't sure what hit him, just that suddenly his body was engulfed with pain.  _The Program…!_ he thought, desperately, sadly, furiously.  _I've failed._

He knew no more.

Xemnas turned to Saix, now, smiling more than he had in a very long time.

"The Replica Program is in your hands, now," Xemnas said. "Do not disappoint, Saix."


End file.
